The Parent Trap
by delusionment
Summary: It's only a matter of time before Ema and Klavier's divorce is finalized. Can their twin daughters Lotte and Lisa put things right before their family is torn apart? Klavier x Ema.
1. Lotte and Lisa

(-- --)

Chapter 1

Lotte and Lisa

**(October 15, 2043, Thursday)**

Unbeknownst to Mr. and Mrs. Gavin, a girl was watching them upstairs through the wooden railing. Their voices echoed throughout the house. The girl gripped the railing until her knuckles turned white.

"I don't believe it," whispered Ema. "You're leaving me?"

"Ema, just listen to me--"

There was a rustle. "_Don't_ touch me, Klavier."

"I don't want to keep lying and hiding from you anymore. Eva deserves better, and I know you do, too."

Silence fell between them except for Ema's sniffling and sobs.

"So that's what's been going on for the past year…you couldn't come to dinner or gatherings or even your daughter's piano recital because you're too busy _screwing another woman_?!" she screamed.

"I'm sorry, Ema--"

"Get out. You're despicable. I can't believe you would actually do this to me…and the girls!"

Another silence fell between the two. Upstairs, the girl stood up from her hiding place and walked slowly down the hall. She opened the door at the end.

"Are you awake?" she asked softly.

The sheets on the bed rustled. "Yeah…" said the other girl.

"Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Of course."

The girl walked into the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She made her way through the darkness to the bed. She pulled back the covers and slipped underneath them.

"I could hear them even though the door was closed…is it really over?"

"Unfortunately…"

"What a disaster…"

The girls froze as the door opened. They feigned sleep as Klavier gave them one last look before closing the door. Several moments later, they heard the tires screeching out of the driveway.

(-- --)

**(October 16, 2043, Friday)**

"Gumshoe's covering your shift today," said Phoenix as he hung up the phone.

Ema let out a soft groan of acknowledgement as she hugged her pillow closer. "I'm a goddamn statistic now…" she moaned.

"Don't say that," said Trucy. She went around the room, picking up items off of the floor and putting them in their rightful place.

"I shouldn't have married him…"

"You married him because you loved him," answered Phoenix.

"And you have two beautiful daughters," added Trucy.

"Did you tell the girls yet?"

"I didn't have to…they already know. They're almost fifteen. They're not stupid…" Ema sat up, leaning over to grab a tissue to blow her nose. Trucy sat down on the bed and put her arms around Ema.

"You're going to get through this," said Phoenix.

"I know…but now, I just want to pull the covers over my head and read novels." She gave a weak smile before adding, "Trucy…go get me one of the books in the living room. I think I'm going to start right now."

(-- --)

**(October 24, 2043, Saturday)**

Charlotte "Lotte" Christina Gavin lightly fingered the ivory keys at her piano. She sighed. She looked up at her younger twin sister across the living room. Elizabeth "Lisa" Ashlyn Gavin was staring at the framed photographs on the mantelpiece.

Lotte and Lisa were identical twins. They were turning fifteen today. The girls were tall. Their skin was tan like their father's. They had long brown hair and shared the same azure colored eyes. Both girls were fluent in English, French, and German, the latter two learned from their parents. Lotte was the musical twin. She could play a wide variety of instruments, though her heart went to the piano. Her sister was the opposite. Lisa was more into books and studying. They were like two pieces of a puzzle. They liked to believe that they both were the hemispheres of the brain, Lotte being the right and Lisa being the left.

The girls could easily switch lives and no one would be able to tell the difference. Lotte was smart and got good grades, but she didn't strive for academic achievement. She didn't have the patience to sit down and study. Lisa could play several pieces on the piano. She couldn't read music notes on the sheet, but she could replay music by ear and by watching which keys were hit. Lotte and Lisa also had the same personality: lady-like, rational, and sweet. They both had tempers they could control; however, Lotte was the one who would lose control first.

Lisa ran a finger along the frame of her parents' wedding photo. Their blissful faces were frozen in time in that one shot. She turned her head to stare at the second floor where her mother was sleeping in her bedroom alone. There was such a difference in their faces after sixteen years. Thick tension hung in the air whenever they were together. They rarely discussed the divorce in front of company, and even then, they couldn't bear to look at each other.

Her fingers drifted off to the side towards more photographs. There was one of the whole family. Soon, this photograph was going to be split down the middle, just like how she and her sister were going to split time between two households. The next one was of her parents, her and her sister, and the rest of their friends and their kids. They were a close group of friends. It was like they were part of an even greater family. The next several photographs were of Lotte and Lisa. There was one when they were infants, one when they were toddlers, and one on their very first day of school. There was a picture of Lotte receiving her ebony piano, and another of Lisa proudly holding up a plaque for academic excellence. The final photograph was of the twins and the children of their family's friends in order of age.

Lotte gently pressed down on the ivory keys, playing Chopin's Nocturne Op.9 No. 2.

Lisa took one last look at the smiling faces in the photographs before letting out a heavy sigh. She collapsed onto the armchair in front of the fireplace, sinking into the soft cushions.

"I can't think of anything to be happy about today," she said quietly.

"It's our birthday," replied Lotte.

"So what? We're spending it with Mom and Dad and our Aunts and Uncles, but today doesn't feel right."

"I think today would be much better if it wasn't hanging over our heads."

"I still want to hope…" whispered Lisa. "I want to hope that Dad would give up that other woman."

"I want to hope that Dad is still in love with Mom…" added Lotte.

"I want to hope that maybe this is all just a really bad dream."

(-- --)

Lotte turned to the boy in the driver's seat. "This isn't the way home," she pointed out.

"I know," he replied.

"Where are you taking us?"

"You'll know when you see it."

The boy was Richard Gregory Edgeworth, the only son of Miles Edgeworth and Franziska von Karma-Edgeworth. He was seventeen, two years older than the twins. He looked like the spitting image of his father – black hair with a grayish sheen and brown eyes. He was incredibly smart like Lisa, but unlike his parents, he wasn't snobbish or condescending. He was laid back and could become rather cheeky, especially with his parents.

Several minutes later, Richard drove the car into a parking lot. A large fence rose up to the ceiling, dividing the lot in two. A bright red sports car could be seen on the other side.

"This is the prosecutors' office," answered Lisa.

"Uh-huh."

"Are we going to see my Dad?" asked Lotte.

Richard turned off the engine and got out of the car. "Let's go."

The three of them rode up the High Prosecutor's Office in silence. Richard opened the door to Room 1202 without knocking. Inside, his father was at his desk writing a bunch of papers. At the sudden intrusion, Edgeworth raised his head to see his son and twin goddaughters.

"What are you doing here, Richard?" asked Edgeworth.

"I brought the birthday girls."

"Hi, Uncle Miles!" the girls replied in unison.

He shot a glare at his son before saying, "Happy Birthday, Lotte. Lisa, Happy Birthday."

"Thank you."

"I was under the impression that I wouldn't be seeing you until your little party tonight."

"Richard brought us," said Lisa. She and her sister sat down on the couch.

Edgeworth narrowed his eyes at his son. "Do you need something?"

Richard smiled and sat down on the couch, making himself comfortable. "What? I can't visit my dad at work?"

Edgeworth hit a button on his phone. "Sarah," he called, "can you please tell my wife to come to my office right now?"

"Right away, sir."

Several minutes later, Franziska opened the door to her husband's office. "What is it?" she asked. She looked at him before looking to the side to see her son on the couch. "What are you doing here?"

Richard scoffed. "Some parents you guys are."

Franziska crossed her arms and frowned. "I see you at home. I don't want to see you at work. Why else would I come here?"

"To…prosecute people?"

Lotte and Lisa giggled. "Hi Auntie Franziska!"

"Hello Charlotte, Elizabeth. Happy Birthday."

"Thank you!"

"And please don't call me "Auntie." It makes me feel old."

"You are old," replied Richard. "You're three years over the hill."

"I'm going to slap you," answered his mother. Richard simply grinned. She turned to the twins. "How's your mother?"

"Better…" answered Lisa. "She's gone back to work. The precinct was pretty understanding so Mom and Dad aren't working together on any cases."

"And I think she only cries at night now," added Lotte.

"She hasn't gone through her anger stage yet?" asked Edgeworth.

"No, not yet. The belongings Dad left behind are still in tact."

""Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." When your mom goes through that stage, you girls can stay with us."

Lotte and Lisa glanced at each other before sighing. "This is really hard for Mom. She still loves Dad. And she can't get over the fact that he's willing to throw away sixteen years of marriage for another woman," said Lisa.

"There have been rumors that Klavier is going to marry Eva Hutchens once the divorce is finalized," said Edgeworth.

"Hmph. What a foolish fool he is," muttered Franziska. "She's probably after his money."

Silence filled the room. Edgeworth stared at the twins' sad faces for a moment before opening up his desk drawer. "Lotte, Lisa, come here." The girls got up from the couch and walked over to him. "Wright and I have other presents for your birthday, but we thought you could do with something a little extra." He withdrew a thick package from inside the drawer and handed it to Lisa. "Just make sure your parents don't see what it is."

Lotte smiled. "Is it something dirty?"

"Just open it."

Lisa set it on the desk and undid the wrapping. Inside, she found a book and two DVD cases. She held up the book and read the title aloud. "_Das doppelte Lottchen_. "The Double Lottie?"" She glanced at Edgeworth before flipping through the pages. "It's completely in German."

"Is that a problem? You're fluent, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but…I prefer to speak German rather than read it." Lisa set down the book and looked at the DVDs. They were both titled as _The Parent Trap_, but they were different versions. One was filmed in 1961, and the remake was done in 1998. The girls glanced at Edgeworth.

"Read the book and watch the movies. Then you'll understand what Wright and I were thinking."

"Miles," called Franziska, "we have to go."

Edgeworth got up, gathering several papers. He was almost out the door when he turned back. "There's a DVD player in my desk if you want to watch the movies now."

The girls rummaged through the drawers and found the player Edgeworth was talking about. They settled on the couch with Richard and began playing the 1961 version.

"_If their love's on skids,  
__Treat your folks like kids,  
__Or your family tree's gonna snap!  
__So to make them dig,  
__First you gotta rig—  
__What do ya gotta rig?  
__The Parent Trap!"_

Lotte and Lisa looked at each other before turning back to the opening credits.

"_If they lose that zing,  
__And they just won't swing,  
__Then the problem falls in your lap!_

_When your folks are square,  
__Then you must prepare—  
__What do ya gotta prepare?  
__The Parent Trap!_

_To set the bait,  
__Recreate the date,  
__The first time Cupid shot 'em.  
__Get 'em under the moon,  
__Play their favorite tune…_

_You got 'em!_

_Lead 'em back to love,  
__With the velvet glove.  
_'_Cause they're much too old for the strap!  
__Straighten up their mess with togetherness.  
__Togetherness!  
__The Parent Trap!"_

"I think I'm starting to understand what Uncle Nick and Uncle Miles want us to do," said Lisa.

"Do you think we could pull it off?" asked Lotte.

"Don't worry about it!" said Richard. "I'll help you, and I'm sure everyone else will, too. You gotta succeed, especially with Uncle Nick and Auntie Trucy on our side."

The girls looked at each other again, a wide grin etching over their lips.

* * *

Based off of _The Parent Trap_, which in turn is based off of the novel _Das doppelte Lottchen_ "The Double Lottie" by Erich Kästner.

Okay, I really shouldn't have created another chapter story because I just get so bad at them. Sometimes it takes me between a few days to several months to get a new chapter out, depending on my creativity level, but I just couldn't help it. They were showing the 1998 version on TV, and then I watched the 1961 version for fun shortly afterwards, and I just got inspired. I love both versions, and I grew up watching the 1961 version.

This story also will have some elements from _The Jane Austen Book Club_, the part revolving around Sylvia and Daniel's relationship. (I haven't read the book yet, so the elements come from the movie.)

The names of Ema and Klavier's daughters is based off of the original names from the novel: Lisa and Lottie.

I'm also such a nerd that I calculated the ages of the principal characters. So Ema and Klavier started dating a year after AJ (26 & 25). They got married in the same year (still 26 & 25). Lotte and Lisa were born the following year (27 & 26). So Ema is 42 and Klavier is 41 now in 2043.

Phoenix is 50, and still unmarried. Trucy is 32 now, and she recently got engaged. Edgeworth is 50 and married to Franziska, who is 43. They have one son, Richard, and he's 17. Apollo is 39 and married to Vera, who is 36. (Haha, I think this pairing is kind of cute.) Apollo and Vera have a 10 year old daughter named Diana. Maya is 43, and unmarried. Pearl is 33 and recently married. Larry is 49 and still unmarried, but he still chases after beautiful women. Gumshoe and Maggey are married; he's 56 and she is 47. They have two kids: a son named Devlin who is 24, and a daughter named Kyra who is 21. Lana is 55 and married to Jake who is 59. They have three kids: a son named Mondo who is 20, a daughter named Stella who is 19, and another daughter named Luna who is 18.

There was also going to be a subplot romance between Richard and Lotte, but I wrote it out because I wanted it to focus on the twins trying to get their parents back together. It was kind of a one-sided thing anyway.

That's it for now. I'll work on trying to update as quickly as possible. I give my apologies in advance if I can't.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Smile Pretty

(-- --)

Chapter 2

Smile Pretty

Lisa got up from the couch and stretched. "We should go say hello to Daddy now."

Lotte shut the DVD player and stood up. "Yeah, we better."

The girls waved goodbye to Richard and left Edgeworth's office. They walked down the hallway and stood in front of Room 1216. They knocked three times and waited. They heard a brief giggle behind the door. Lotte and Lisa looked at each other.

"You don't think--" started Lotte.

"I don't think," cut in her sister. "That woman's in there."

Lotte dropped her voice to a whisper. "Do think Dad has a brain tumor?"

"I hope that woman has a brain tumor." Lisa smiled bitterly. "Then maybe she'd die, and Dad would go back to Mom."

Lotte returned the smile. "If only, if only." With no response from the other side, Lotte knocked on the door a little harder. They heard a rustle inside.

"Who is it?" asked Klavier. They heard another giggle.

"I'm going to puke," muttered Lisa.

"It's your two favorite daughters in the whole entire world, Daddy!" answered Lotte. She added in a low voice, "You should puke on her."

Lisa chuckled. "You know I would. Vomit projects."

Both girls put on bright smiles as the door opened to reveal their father. His hair was a mess, but it looked like he had tried to smooth it out before opening the door.

"Hi Daddy~!" they said in unison.

"Well, this is a surprise. What are you girls doing here?" he asked. "Did Richard bring you here?"

"Yes, he did!"

Klavier smiled, embracing his daughters. "Happy Birthday, girls."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"Why don't you come in? There's someone I want you to meet."

The girls shot each other a warning look when their father turned away. They cautiously entered his office. It was a mess, as usual, but there was a young woman sitting in their father's recliner.

"Girls, this is Eva Hutchens," introduced Klavier. "Eva, these are my daughters, Charlotte and Elizabeth."

The woman smiled, baring her white teeth at them. "Hello, girls," she said. Her voice was soft and smooth, like velvet.

Eva was certainly different from what they had imagined. She had long black hair and cool, emerald eyes. She looked sophisticated in her gray suit, though she somehow made it sexy all the while. As she sat, her skirt moved up a little, revealing her long, lean legs. The twins would have thought she was a classy lady if she wasn't the one sleeping with their father.

Lotte and Lisa's eyes flashed dangerously at the woman, but their faces remained calm, the tone of their voices civil and polite.

"Nice to meet you," they replied.

"You're father has told me so much about you! I've been looking forward to meeting you girls for the longest time!" gushed Eva.

"Really now?" asked Lotte. _Gold digging liar_, she thought spitefully.

"Oh, Klavier, they're simply adorable! Very pretty young ladies, indeed."

"Thank you," said Lisa. _Superficial bitch_, she thought. _I still want to puke on you._

"Now, we really should become very good friends."

"That would be nice," lied the twins. _Not on your life._

Eva beamed.

Lisa shifted on the spot. Even though everyone was smiling, there was an air of disgust hanging around and it wasn't just from her and her sister. "Daddy, are you going to dinner with us tonight?"

"Oh…uh…" Klavier glanced at Eva before replying, "I'm not so sure, doll."

Lotte frowned with displeasure. Was their father really going to blow off their birthday for this shallow woman? "We should get going," she cut in curtly. "We don't want to make Richard wait."

Lisa smiled at her father and Eva, but her eyes were as cold as ice. "_Auf Wiedersehen_." Lotte followed her twin's example and smiled as she said goodbye.

"_Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag_," said Klavier.

(-- --)

"So you _actually_ met her?" asked Luna.

Luna Helaine Marshall was the youngest child of Lana and Jake. She was a pretty girl with black hair and cobalt blue eyes. She was eighteen and a senior in high school. Luna was a charming girl, which made her incredibly popular at school. She had a multitude of friends, most likely caused from her pleasant demeanor.

Lisa stabbed a piece of calamari with her fork with more force than necessary. She scoffed. "Yeah."

"What was she like?" asked Devlin.

Devlin was the oldest son of Dick Gumshoe and Maggey. He was twenty-four and out of college. He was currently in the police academy, trying to become a police officer and eventually a detective like his father. He had black hair and brown eyes. He was tall and worked out often, leaving him incredibly buff. He had inherited some of his mother's bad luck and was rather clumsy. (Phoenix believes that it all started when Maggey named him "Devlin" in the first place.)

"I imagined big boobs and make-up caked on to the point that you would mistake her as a hooker, but in reality, she's two-faced, superficial, fake, shallow—"

"And young," added Lotte. "She was very nicely put together, but in my head, she's still a gold digging slut who ruined my family."

Dinner that night was lively despite some of the circumstances. They all went out to Lotte and Lisa's favorite restaurant, _The Palm – Downtown_. The menu was rather pricey for a party of nineteen people, but Edgeworth was the one handling the bill. There were a few people missing like Maggey and Gumshoe's daughter, Kyra and Lotte and Lisa's cousins, Mondo and Stella. Kyra, Mondo, and Stella were in college. Mondo and Stella were attending Oxford, and Kyra was at college in Arizona. There was one open seat for Klavier, but he was nowhere to been seen. It seemed like it was better if he wasn't there. Ema wasn't sulking as she chatted with Maya.

"Who're you talking about?" asked Diana.

Diana Jennifer Justice was the only daughter of Apollo and Vera. She was ten years old. She had shoulder length brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was a sweet girl who took up drawing after her mother. She disliked shouting, often wearing earplugs to bed so she wouldn't be disturbed from her father's Chords of Steel training. She was incredibly observant, inheriting her father's ability of perception. Her grandmother had given her a bracelet identical to Apollo's, which she wore with pride. When Diana was born, Phoenix joked about naming her "Artemis," but declared that Diana was "close enough."

"Don't worry about it Diana," said Trucy. She glanced at Ema before asking the twins in a low voice, "Do you think your mom could take her?"

Lisa smirked. "Well, let's weigh their qualities." She held up her hands, palms facing up. "That woman is a slut, pretty, young, shallow, probably has never changed a baby's diaper in her whole entire life, and is worried about breaking her nails by opening a can of soda." Lisa held up her left hand before continuing on, "Mom is the coolest detective ever (with Uncle Gumshoe a close second), she carries a gun, a bag of Snackoos, has the best hit ratio in the entire department, can run a household full of adolescents, she has a bottle of hydroxyacelunodosetrase in her purse, and she's a women scorned!" She held up her right hand.

"Verdict?" asked Trucy, amused.

Lisa pretended to weigh her hands before her left hand elevated up and her right hand moved down. "No contest! Mom would kick her ass anytime."

"Naturally," said Richard. "A woman who spends her time shopping ("Probably with Dad's credit card," muttered Lotte) and a woman who is a detective? Get real. It's not even a competition."

"More like a joke," added Devlin.

Phoenix leaned over and said, "Truce, can you pass me the barbecue sauce?" Trucy grabbed the bottle and handed it to her father. "By the way, when are you going to give me a grandchild?" he added jokingly.

Trucy laughed. "Daddy, don't start with that."

"What? Just asking."

"Well, when are you going to give me a mom, huh?"

"I thought that Nick wasn't going to marry Mystic Maya for another seventeen years," said Pearl. "Though if you ask me, I think they should get married _now_."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Pearly, you've been saying that since you were eight."

"And I'll keep saying it until the wedding actually happens."

"Well, then you'll just have to wait those seventeen years."

Phoenix and Maya were not married. Phoenix had no real desire to settle down, especially when he was getting older and had a daughter recently engaged. Maya wasn't married because she directed most of her focus towards her position as the Master of Kurain Village. Much to Pearl's delight and chagrin, they made a deal that if Maya was still unmarried by the time she hit the age of sixty, she and Phoenix would get married.

Phoenix thoughtfully chewed his steak before adding, "I still want that grandkid though."

"You'll get one once I'm married and ready to squeeze one out," answered his daughter.

Apollo jumped up, clamping his hands over his daughter's ears. "Trucy, don't be so crass in front of Diana!"

His sister chuckled. "Pearl, you got married a couple of months ago. When are you going to squeeze one out?"

"Trucy!"

Pearl smiled and said, "Hopefully soon. We've been trying to get pregnant."

"I still want a grandkid," mumbled Phoenix.

Ema laughed. "Nick, technically you have a grandkid already!"

He frowned. "Who?"

"Diana, of course!"

"Ema raises a good point, Wright," said Edgeworth.

"Yeah, Daddy! Diana technically is your grandchild," explained Trucy. "I'm your daughter. Apollo is my brother, and Diana is his daughter. So, it counts."

Vera smiled. "That's why we taught Diana to call you "Granddaddy." Right, Diana?"

Apollo's hands slipped from the young girl's ears. She smiled innocently. "What are we talking about?"

"Just say "yes," honey."

"Oh, okay. "Yes.""

"Being called a "Granddaddy" makes me sound old," remarked the former lawyer.

"You are old," pointed out Maya.

"Fifty is not old."

"You've been saying that since you hit thirty."

"Quit choosing your battles, Phoenix Wright," said Franziska.

"If anything, Uncle Jake is the one who is old," remarked Richard. Edgeworth smacked his son behind the head.

"Learn some manners," he scolded.

"If anyone else is old, then my dad is old, too," commented Devlin.

"Devlin!" warned Maggey.

"Don't start, pal!"

"Boy, watch out," warned Jake. "When you reach my age, your kids will be the ones to make fun of you for being old."

Lana sighed. "Next thing you know, I'll be called old."

"Auntie Lana, you're not old!" said Lotte.

"Yeah, mom! Fifty-five isn't old!" added Luna.

Lana chuckled. "Thank you, girls."

"Hello? If Lana ain't old, what about me and Gumshoe?" asked Jake.

"Uncle Jake, you're not old," said Lisa. "You're considered "old" when you start hitting seventy."

"Yeah, you guys are just pre-ancient," said Richard. That comment earned him another slap behind the head from his mother.

Ema laughed. "If we're on the topic of age," she raised her glass, "then I would like to propose a toast to my daughters." Everyone followed suit and raised their glasses to Lotte and Lisa. "Here is to my wonderful, lovely daughters, who are--"

"Sorry, I'm late," interrupted Klavier. He quickly took the empty seat as his daughters beamed at his presence and the fact that his mistress wasn't with him.

Ema and Klavier caught each other's eye, and she quickly looked away from him. She could feel her throat closing up. No. She wasn't going to start crying – not here, not now, not in the restaurant in front of her family and friends, not in the middle of her toast. She was going to smile and not breakdown for the sake of herself and the twins. She had to be strong.

Maggey laid a hand on Ema's shoulder. "Keep going," she encouraged softly.

Ema smiled and nodded. "I…as I was saying, to my wonderful daughters Lotte and Lisa, who are turning fifteen today, may this be a fantastic birthday and may you both have an amazing year as fifteen year olds. To Lotte and Lisa!"

"To Lotte and Lisa!"

"To Lotte and Lisa," added Klavier. His gaze lingered on his wife, who had turned away to chat with Pearl and Maggey. His eyes turned to his daughters where Lotte was being teased by Richard, and Lisa was chatting with Devlin about the police academy. He cast his eyes down to his empty plate. Maybe it was better if--

* * *

Hi again!

This chapter was actually completed two days ago, but I was spending my time editing and revising as well as getting started with the third chapter. Ema and Klavier's situation went through several drafts before reaching this one. The first one was with them constantly fighting and arguing because Ema found out about Klavier's mistress and he wouldn't try to save their marriage so Ema just decides to give up. And then whenever they are together, they just start arguing even if it was a special occasion. This draft was thrown out because I thought it would have been harder to recover from.

This chapter is very slice of life-y. The real match making fun starts next chapter. This chapter was mostly to introduce Eva and some of the kids of the other families. As a side note, "Devlin" is an Irish name for "descendant of the unlucky one." Totally appropriate for a kid born to Maggey, right? ;) And you better have gotten that "Diana/Artemis" joke. The dinner scene was a little too much to swallow because there were nineteen people at that table, and I wanted each person to get at least _one_ line in. And that last line? Totally intentional for future reasons.

"_Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag_" is German for "Happy Birthday." I actually looked it up, and there were several ways to say happy birthday in German, and this is one of them. Pretty long just to wish someone a happy birthday.

That's it for now! Thanks for reading!


	3. Recollection and Memory

(-- --)

Chapter 3

Recollection and Memory

**(October 27, 2043, Tuesday)**

Phoenix sat behind his desk and opened up a notebook. "So what is your plan of attack?" he asked. He looked up at Lotte and Lisa on the couch.

Trucy giggled. "Oh man, I love plotting."

"Of course you do," commented Apollo.

Ema knew her daughters were having dinner with Phoenix that night. What she didn't know was that her daughters were starting to plan their "Parent Trap," consulting with Phoenix and Trucy first. Richard was present, happy to go along with any plan just as long as he got wreck some kind of havoc. Apollo, Vera, and Diana were also present, mostly to act as a moral compass for the group.

Lotte sighed, noticing a chess set on the table. She pulled it towards her. She set the White Queen and White King next to each other in the center of the board. Then she placed the Black Queen on the edge of the board, and moved the White King next to the Black Queen. "If anything, I want to take out Eva Hutchens first," she said, flicking the Black Queen off of the board.

"You can't just play any trick on her," said Lisa. "We have to do something that will really make her think that Dad's money isn't worth it."

"Hayley Mills and Lindsay Lohan didn't do tricks like that until the camping trip," said Trucy.

"Uncle Jake will have to take us camping then."

"Forget about Eva right now," said Phoenix. "Focus on your parents first. If you direct your energy to destroying Eva, Klavier will just get another woman to replace her. Your parents won't get back together."

"I see your point," said Lisa.

Diana clapped excitedly while beaming. "Wow, Grandpa! That's really inspiring!"

"Even I'm surprised at it," commented Apollo with a smirk.

"You have to do something that will make your parents remember why they fell in love in the first place," said Trucy.

"It's more so on Dad's side than Mom's," pointed out the younger twin. "Mom's still in love with him."

A small smile appeared on Lotte's lips. "What was their first date like?" she asked.

Trucy grinned. "Why don't you ask them yourself?"

"Recollection and memory," added Vera.

"We could do something like plant their wedding video in Dad's closet and then watch it in front of him," suggested Lisa.

"I like that idea," said Phoenix. "But your dad is staying with his mistress. How are you going to pull off something like that?"

"If you guys were a little bit younger, it wouldn't be such a problem," answered Richard. "Since you're fifteen now, your dad will think that you both can take care of yourselves."

Lisa groaned. "There's truth to that. Though if Mom got more work, then she would probably send us to stay with someone. She doesn't like it when we're alone for so long."

"But your mother wouldn't send you to stay with your father," replied Apollo. "It would be any one of us first."

"Maybe Lotte and Lisa will go stay with Uncle Klavy if everyone went out of the country," said Diana.

"Good point, but too extreme," Phoenix said with a laugh. "Maybe some overtime?"

"You can't just lie and say that everyone is working overtime," pointed out Lotte. "Dad is a prosecutor, too. He knows what goes on in the precinct."

"I'll speak to my parents," said Richard. "I'm sure my old man could get Uncle Gumshoe and Auntie Ema some overtime.'

"They'll be thrilled to get more work," remarked Phoenix.

"They sure could use it, though."

"Then Daddy, Polly, Vera, and I could just lie and say we're busy," said Trucy.

"If that is the case, then Diana will have to stay with Lotte and Lisa as well," answered Vera.

"Oh, we don't mind," said Lotte.

"Yeah! Diana could help us anyway," added Lisa.

Diana nodded. "It sounds like fun!"

"All right…" Phoenix scribbled a bunch of notes in the notebook. "We'll come up with more ideas later."

Richard let out a throaty laugh. "If none of these work, we might as well trap them on a boat and kick it off to sea."

"Or lock them in a closet!" added Trucy.

Apollo groaned. "Sounds like a recipe for a catastrophe, especially if Ema is going through that anger stage. She'd tear him to shreds. Then I would be the one to defend her in court."

(-- --)

The girls slammed the front door to the house. They were about to walk up the stairs when they heard their mother in the kitchen.

"Lotte? Lisa?" Both girls went into the kitchen. Their mother was sitting at the island bar, looking exhausted. "How was dinner?"

"Good," answered Lotte.

"Did Nick just order take-out?" The twins glanced at each other and didn't say anything. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Are you mad, Mom?" asked Lisa.

Ema chuckled weakly. "No, I'm not, honey. I didn't expect Nick to whip up some fancy dinner. I'm just really tired."

"Oh, well, then…what we want to say can wait until tomorrow."

"Say what?"

"Well…" The twins glanced at each other again before sitting on a stool by the bar. "During dinner, we heard a few stories from Uncle Nick."

Ema propped her heard up with her arm. "Oh? What kind of stories? Were they when he was still a lawyer?"

"No. He told us the story of how Uncle Polly and Auntie Vera got together," said Lotte.

Ema chuckled. "I remember that."

"And when Uncle Gumshoe and Aunt Maggey got engaged."

"It was a cute proposal."

"And when Uncle Miles and Auntie Franziska got married."

"Larry almost made that day a disaster."

"So, we were wondering…" began Lisa. She looked at her sister before continuing on. "We were wondering if you could tell us about your first date with Daddy."

Ema froze. Memories of that night sixteen years ago flooded back to her. She could remember every single detail, every single moment… Since Klavier had asked her for a divorce, she wanted to forget every single one of those details. It was memories like that caused her so much pain. She thought they were happy in their marriage, and in one fell swoop, her heart was shattered.

"Mom, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to!" Lotte replied quickly.

"Yeah! Let's go, Lotte. We shouldn't have asked," added Lisa.

They were almost out the door when Ema said, "N-no…no. I'll tell you. I…I don't mind." When her daughters were seated, she took a deep breath and began her tale.

"My first date with your father was sixteen years ago on July 1, 2027. We had known each other for several years already, and he always asked me out. I always refused, and I think he took it as "please try again tomorrow." Oh…I don't know what made me accept his invitation to a date in the first place. I used to hate his guts…"

"So no love at first sight?" asked Lisa.

Ema chuckled. "Hardly. I thought he was self-centered, pompous, and annoying. I nicknamed him "glimmerous fop." I liked my prosecutors "simmerous" like your Uncle Miles."

"So why did you go out with Daddy, anyway?" asked Lotte.

"Another mystery of love, I guess. I don't know. The best way I can say it is that…your father just has a way of getting under my skin. His charm was like poison. It affects each person differently. It didn't affect me for two, three years. And then…it becomes hard to resist. So I said yes to him. Now that I think about it, I don't know if it was a good thing that I accepted the date at all."

"Why say that?"

"Well, on one hand, saying yes to that date eventually led to two beautiful daughters. If I said no…I would have been spared of a disastrous date!"

"Your first date with Dad was horrible?" asked Lisa.

"It was an absolute nightmare," corrected Ema.

"What happened?"

"Everything that could've gone wrong went wrong. Your father was very popular back then, and his fan girls saw me on a date with him. They plotted my demise. The waitress who served us was also one of his fan girls. Ugh, she was a bitch. She flirted with Klavier in front of me, practically telling him to ditch me in favor of her. When he didn't, the waitress "accidentally" spilled food and drinks all over me. She was walking by with a tray and "tripped." A bowl of salad, a plate of spaghetti, and a chocolate cake came tumbling down on me. And she poured a glass of wine over my head as well. She dumped three courses on me! Then she had the nerve to "clean up" the mess she caused. She tried to get the cake out of my hair by smearing it with a bunch of napkins. I was so furious and embarrassed, I got up and left. To make matters worse, one of the fan girls stepped on my dress and ripped it, _and_ it started raining."

"That's horrible…"

"I can't believe those girls would do such a thing."

"Yeah, well… Your father offered to drive me home, but I was so mortified that I refused and took a cab back to my apartment. It took five baths to get all of the wine, cake, and tomato sauce out of my hair. It took another bath to stop smelling like food. I was so _humiliated_ that I didn't want to go back to work. I was about to go to bed when I heard a knock at the door."

"It was Dad?!" Lotte asked excitedly.

"Yes, it was. He wanted to talk to me, and he asked me to open the door. But I wouldn't, and I was going to ignore him when I heard him playing a guitar. And it wasn't one of his electric guitars either. It was an acoustic guitar. The melody was…very soft. Your father started singing, and…" Ema smiled softly.

"What song was it?"

"Oh, it's a very, very old song. Let's see here…the first time it was ever performed was in…1936?"

"A hundred and seven years?!" cried out Lisa.

"What song was it?" repeated Lotte.

"_The Way You Look Tonight._ It's been performed by many singers and musicians, but the original was sung by an actor named Fred Astaire in the movie _Swing Time_. But I loved it best when your father sang it."

"Do you remember how to sing it?"

"No. No…" Ema clasped her hands together, staring down at the tiles of the bar. The melody began playing in her head, the words suddenly flowing out of her throat.

"_Someday,  
When I'm awfully low  
And the world is cold,  
I will feel a glow just thinking of you  
And the way you look tonight. _

_Oh but you're lovely  
With your smile so warm  
And your cheek so soft.  
There is nothing for me but to love you  
Just the way you look tonight._

_With each word your tenderness grows,  
Tearing my fear apart.  
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,  
Touches my foolish heart._

_Lovely,  
Never, never change.  
Keep that breathless charm.  
Won't you please arrange it, 'cause I love you  
Just the way you look tonight--  
Just the way you look tonight."_

"That was beautiful," said Lisa.

Their mother smiled, though her eyes were sad.

"So what happened next?" asked Lotte.

"What do you think I did? I opened up that door and kissed him. It was so touching…and romantic… I would have been a fool if I didn't open the door…"

Lisa and Lotte smiled softly. "You still love Dad, don't you?" they asked together.

Ema swallowed the lump in her throat. "Of course… But he made his decision, and I have to accept that." She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's getting late. You girls should get to bed. It's a school night."

The twins slipped off of the stools and kissed their mother. "_Bonne nuit_."

"_Bonne nuit_…"

Once her daughters were out of sight, Ema hid her face in her hands. She wanted to forget this pain so badly. The fact that her court proceeding for legal separation was in three days did not help either. It tore her apart. She was sure that the pieces of her heart were so small they could pass through the eye of a needle. Certainly, she could pick up those pieces and mend it, but it would never be the same.

(-- --)

**(October 30, 2043, Friday)**

Klavier's unemotional face stared back at her from across the table. She averted her eyes away, staring at the rings on the wooden table. The Judge was talking, listing the terms of their separation.

"Now, I understand you have two daughters under the age of eighteen?" asked the Judge.

Ema snapped from her reverie. "Yes," she answered.

"And have you both decided on custody rights?"

"Yes. It will be joi--"

"I want Mrs. Gavin to have sole legal and physical custody rights to Charlotte and Elizabeth," cut in Klavier.

Ema's eyes slammed down onto her husband's. "What?!"

"Mrs. Gavin, do you consent to this?"

"No!" yelled Ema. "Klavier, what has gotten into you?!"

"I just think it would be better if the girls were with you instead of me, Ema," he answered calmly.

"Why? Is it because I'm their mother and you just want to _dump_ them on me?!"

"I'm not _dumping _them on you. They look happier when they're with you anyway. They love you."

"They love you, too, even if they are ashamed of what you've been doing!"

"I want to do what's in their best interest--"

"So it's in their best interest to be left with me? They're your own flesh and blood, and you want nothing do with them?!"

"I never said that!"

"That's what you're basically getting at, isn't it?! If I have sole legal and physical custody of the girls, then all responsibility falls on _me_. You wouldn't have the right to decide anything in their lives. You wouldn't have to do anything! It's just about the same thing!" argued Ema. "Klavier, you're their _father_. Take responsibility for them."

He stared back at her, his blue eyes boring into hers. She wanted to look away, but she wasn't going to back down from this. She tried to ignore the pounding in her chest or the way her hands trembled.

Klavier let out a heavy sigh. "You're right…I'm sorry."

"Then joint legal and physical custody?" asked the Judge.

"Joint legal custody, yes," said Klavier, "But I would like to request that Mrs. Gavin have sole physical custody over our daughters, and I want visitation rights to any terms Mrs. Gavin wants."

"Mrs. Gavin?"

"Why?" asked Ema.

"I don't think the twins would want to move between two households constantly. This way, they live in one place and still get to see me."

Ema understood what Klavier was trying to say. If they had joint legal custody over the girls, then they could both make the any major decision for them. If they had joint physical custody over them, Lotte and Lisa would have to go through a "six month split" arrangement. They would have two of everything: two parents, two homes, two beds… It was bad enough that their parents were splitting up.

"…I consent."

Legal separation – it was a step Ema did not want to take, but she had to anyway. She was one step closer to a divorce. One step closer to being freed from marriage, and yet, it wasn't a step closer to ending the pain in her heart.

* * *

Thank you to everyone to read and reviewed so far! You all make me so happy. :)

One more chapter before I head back to school. I've started on the next chapter, so I should be able to get a good amount of it done before I start getting homework.

Soooo, anyway...I think the very basic plans to hook people up is to put them on a boat and kick it off to sea or lock them in a closet. I think the boat one was used in _The Parent Trap II_. (Although, I never could watch the sequels to the original movie because I found them boring.)

I also wanted to answer two questions people have been asking me: Who is Trucy engaged to? Who is Pearl married to? Honestly, when I was planning out the story, they were just unidentified OCs, and they were planning on staying like that. Well, Trucy's fiancee is most definitely going to be an unidentified OC still. Pearl's husband...when I was first asked that question, I suddenly remember those fan fics that paired Pearl and Wocky together, and even though it is kind of random, it is still cute like Apollo x Vera. So yes, Pearl is married to Wocky. :) It will be officially noted next chapter.

Ema and Klavier's first date...I was going to use it as the sequel to my one-shot _Just the Girl_, but I couldn't really write it properly. Now, officially, _Just the Girl_ will have **NO** sequel because I can't think of any ideas for one.

_The Way You Look Tonight_ is a very old song, even today. It was written by Jerome Kern, and lyrics is by Dorothy Fields. It was first performed by Fred Astaire in the movie _Swing Time_ in 1936.

_"Bonne nuit_" is French for "good night."

"...the pieces of her heart were so small they could pass through the eye of a needle." = allusion to _A Knight's Tale_. (-heart-)

Now, I'm not very familiar with the divorce and separation process, so I had to look much of it up. I doubt a separation proceeding would take place in such a short time, but then again, it's Klavier and he could always pull some strings. "Sole legal custody" means that one parent has the right and responsibility to make decisions regarding the welfare of the child, which includes such things as education, medical care and emotional, religious, and moral development. "Sole physical custody" means that a child will reside under the supervision of one parent and is subject to visitation by the other parent.

Much, much more in the next chapter!


	4. Whirlwind Week

(-- --)

Chapter 4

Whirlwind Week

**(November 9, 2043, Monday)**

Ema banged her head against the desk, her cell phone slipping from her hand. The precinct was buzzing noisily. A Cadaverini had been found murdered that day. It was a very big deal. The Chief had assigned many detectives on the case, Ema and Gumshoe among them. The suspects were from a rival mob, and none had been apprehended yet. They were all on the run.

Ema was swamped with paperwork and leads. While trying to track down the suspects, she was trying to get in touch with her friends. She knew this case was huge. She knew that working on this case meant that she would be working overtime until the case was solved. She had no choice but to have her daughters stay with friends. She didn't want to subject them to child neglect.

She had called Phoenix, but he was out of town. Trucy was trying to juggle work and planning for her wedding. Edgeworth was working as the prosecutor for this case, and his wife had her own work to do. Her sister and Jake lived too far away, and Maya and Pearl said they were busy at their village. Gumshoe was in the same position as her, and Maggey was busy visiting her parents.

Ema's phone rang. She accepted the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, Ema," greeted Apollo.

"Oh, thank God! I need to talk to you, Apollo."

"What about?"

"I've been chosen to be the defense attorney for the Cadaverini case, and I was wondering if you could take care of Diana for me until this case is over."

"Oh no, I'm sorry Apollo. I'm working on the case, too. I've also been trying to find someone who can take the twins while I'm on the case. What about Vera?"

"Busy with work."

"Everyone's busy with work lately," snapped Ema.

"Why don't you call Klavier?"

Ema groaned. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to… It's been so awkward since we formally separated."

"Do it. Sacrifice is necessary at times."

"…You're right. Thanks, Apollo." She hung up. She took a deep breath before dialing her estranged husband's phone number with shaking fingers. Somehow, she felt like a high school girl calling her crush to confess her love.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Klavier…" greeted Ema.

"Ema?" He sounded surprised.

"I'm sorry to call so out of the blue, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Is it possible that Diana and the twins could stay with you for about a week?" she asked.

"Is this about the Cadaverini case?"

"Yes…"

"But you do know that this violates the order of sole physical custody right?"

"I'm allowing temporary visitation for a week," she answered. "That should be fine, right?"

Klavier chuckled. Ema wanted to melt. It was small things like that that made her still love him, and dammit, she hated it. She was supposed to move on and forget about him, but she was wrapped around his finger. "Okay, then," he replied. "I'll call Richard with the details."

(-- --)

"Tell me again," said Pearl. "Why the big rush to get married next month?"

"Because," said Trucy. She twirled around in front of the mirrors, admiring her wedding dress. "I don't want to wait until spring to get married."

Ema had called Trucy, Maya, Pearl, and Franziska to ask them if they could take care of her daughters while the Cadaverini case was going on. They lied, one by one, when in fact, they were going to get Trucy's wedding gown fitted.

Maya raised an eyebrow. "Trucy Wright, are you pregnant?"

Pearl gasped. "You're pregnant?!"

"I'm not pregnant! If I was pregnant, I would have told Daddy already, and he would be bouncing around because he would be so ecstatic that he was finally going to have the grandkid he always wanted from me," answered Trucy.

"Okay, point taken," said Maya.

"You know, I was engaged for a year before marrying Wocky," said Pearl. "You should do the same, Truce!"

"You're rushing into marriage."

"I am not _rushing_ into marriage. Ema and Klavier are the ones who rushed into marriage." Trucy clamped a hand over her mouth and shook her head. "Oh no… I shouldn't say something like that."

"It's fine…" said Franziska. "They were fools in love."

Maya's expression darkened. "I wonder who the fool is now. Klavier was always a smooth talker, but I never took him as one who would betray the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with."

"He better know what a good thing he has when he has it," said Trucy.

"He's making an absolute fool of himself, going after a woman who's twenty years younger than him." said Franziska.

"I heard that she sells perfume in Saks Fifth Avenue," commented Pearl.

Maya scoffed. "She's better at selling herself than the perfume."

Franziska's phone rang. She took one look at who it was and flipped it open. "What do you want, Richard?" she asked in a cool voice. "Okay…I see. That's good. Make sure they bring the video with them… What? Honey? String? Superglue?... I don't care, Richard. Take them to the store before dropping them off at Klavier's… No, don't use your credit card… _How much are you buying?!_"

"The Edgeworths are a funny family," Maya commented quietly.

Trucy smiled as Franziska continued to yell at her son over the phone. "I think Richard is pissing off his mother on purpose."

Pearl waved her hand. "He does that all the time. That's Richard for you."

"Shut up! Just get it done!" yelled Franziska. She ended the call, fuming. Maya, Pearl, and Trucy stared at the other woman, smirks appearing at their lips. "What?"

"What's the honey, string, and superglue for?" asked Trucy.

"The twins thought of something."

She giggled. "Whatever they're scheming sounds pretty sweet."

"Sweet toothed for revenge, I guess," added Maya.

"Richard called to say that Diana and the twins will be spending the week with their father."

"It's going according to plan," said Pearl.

"Indeed. We should go ahead with the next phase."

(-- --)

Klavier strode into the living room when he heard the doorbell ring. He opened the door and his two daughters and Diana came in, dumping a load of luggage on the floor.

"Hi, Daddy!" greeted Lotte and Lisa, beaming.

"Hi, Uncle Klavy!" added Diana.

"Hi, girls." Klavier tentatively stared at their suitcases. "That's a lot you packed for only a week."

"We were going to pack more, but then Richard got mad at us," answered Lotte.

A woman softly cleared her throat. Lotte, Lisa, and Diana leaned sideways, to look past Klavier to see Eva sitting at a table, drinking tea with a young woman.

"Hi, Eva!" greeted the twins.

Eva smiled sweetly. "Hello, again, girls." She gestured to the woman at the table. "Lotte, Lisa, this is my friend from work, Vicky. Vicky, these are Klavier's twin daughters, Charlotte and Elizabeth."

"Oh hello! How are you?" greeted Vicky.

"Hi there."

"And who is this adorable little girl?" asked Eva, eyeing Diana.

"This is Diana," said Klavier. "Apollo Justice's daughter."

"Aw! Well, aren't you adorable?"

Diana simply smiled, doing a little curtsey.

"Girls, let's go. I'll show you to the guest bedroom," said Klavier.

Eva and Vicky watched the girls pick up their suitcases and follow after Klavier. Once they were out of sight, a scowl replaced Eva's smile. "Those were the little beasts I was telling you about."

Vicky raised an eyebrow. "They're nothing but children!"

"They're conniving, vicious, little two-faced brats, and I'm sure that other girl with them is one, too. They smile and act refreshing, but I know vixen when I see them," answered Eva. She glowered at the doorway.

"In two months, you'll be the next Mrs. Klavier Gavin," said Vicky. "Just smile, darling. Think of California and that wonderful community property law _and just smile_."

Eva smirked. "First change I ever make in this household will to ban those girls from ever coming here. And if Klavier ever gets custody of them, I'll ship them off to a boarding school in Switzerland."

(-- --)

"I hope with all that stuff you brought along, you won't be causing any trouble when Eva and I are away," commented Klavier.

Lisa giggled. "Oh, don't worry Daddy. You know we wouldn't throw any parties when you're gone."

"Yeah!" said Lotte. "We're not like Luna."

"And Mondo. And Stella," added her sister. She began counting off her fingers, "And Devlin. And Kyra. And Richard."

Klavier laughed. "Good to know." He watched the girls look around the room. It was cozy enough for the three of them. "Hey, Lotte, Lisa, there's been something I want to talk to you about--"

"Wow! Look at that view!" exclaimed Lotte. Lisa and Diana jumped over the bed to look out the window with her.

"H-hey, girls, I'm trying to tell you something here--"

"Yeah, just a minute, Dad," said Lotte, pressing her nose against the windowpane. She pretended to be engrossed with the scenery.

Diana tugged on the younger twin's sleeve. "Lisa, can you help me with my homework?"

"Yeah, sure!"

Klavier sighed as Diana and Lisa began spreading their homework over the bed. Lotte moved away from the window and began fiddling with the strings of her violin. "You know what? We can talk later. I have to head back to the office."

"'Kay," the three girls answered together.

"_Auf Wiedersehen_," said Klavier.

"_Auf Wiedersehen_," repeated Lotte and Lisa.

"Bye!"

When the door was closed, Lotte looked up from her violin. "I don't like what Dad wants to tell us."

"The divorce will be finalized in two months," remarked Diana.

Lisa smirked deviously. "Then let's get rid of "_Miss Crystal Allen,_" shall we?"

(-- --)

**(November 10, 2043, Tuesday)**

Lotte entered the kitchen, holding her father's acoustic guitar. Klavier was reading a newspaper at the table.

"Hey, Dad, do you want to hear a song I learned today?" asked Lotte.

Her father put down the newspaper and grinned. "_Natürlich._"

"All right!" Lotte sat down on a chair, propping the guitar on her lap. She strummed a few cords and began playing a soft melody.

The gears in Klavier's head turned. He knew this melody. He felt a current of electricity flowing through his fingers. They had played the same tune on the guitar before.

"_Someday, when I'm awfully low, and the world is cold,_" sang Lotte, "_I will feel a glow just thinking of you – and the way you look tonight…_"

Oh God.

Klavier sat frozen in his chair. The gears of his memory began to turn, faster and faster. He remembered taking Ema out to dinner. He remembered the disaster during their meal. He remembered trying to take her home, and Ema getting into a cab instead. He remembered going to her apartment and being refused. He remembered playing _The Way You Look Tonight_ on that same guitar. He remembered the door opening, and Ema flying into his arms and kissing him.

He remembered thinking, _she's the one_.

(-- --)

**(November 11, 2043, Wednesday)**

It was one in the morning when Ema got home. The house was dead silent. Her daughters were gone only two days, and she already missed them. She missed coming home to Lotte playing her piano and Lisa answering the questions on Jeopardy. There were other things she missed, but she quickly shoved those out of her head (but not her heart.)

She turned on a lamp in the living room and collapsed onto the couch. She was so exhausted from investigating and writing up paperwork that she could just close her eyes and go to sleep now.

_Ring, ring_.

Ema groaned. Her arm flailed around, trying to find the phone on the table next to the couch. Finding it, she accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Auntie Ema!" greeted a girl from the other line.

"Stella! How are you doing?"

Stella Ellen Marshall was the second child of Lana and Jake. She was nineteen and in her first year of college. She was attending Oxford in England. She had long brown hair and black eyes. She loved playing the piano, especially doing duets with Lotte. She was studying to become a defense attorney. She greatly admired her godfather Phoenix Wright. Her goal in life was to become like him: lawyer, pianist…legend.

"I'm good! I heard from Mom that you've been really busy lately."

Ema sighed. "Yes. We finally caught the suspects in the Cadaverini case. Trial starts tomorrow."

"I'll be keeping a close eye on the case."

"Is that Auntie Ema?" asked Mondo in the background. "Hey, let me talk to her!"

Mondo Lucian Marshall was the oldest child and only son of Lana and Jake. He had dark brown hair and cobalt blue eyes. He was twenty and studying in Oxford. He was aspiring to become a doctor while working in a bookstore. He loved reading books, and was trying to read every book in his school's library before entering medical school.

"Stop it! You'll get your turn!" yelled Stella. "So anyway, I know it's a little early for Lisa to be thinking about college, but do you think she wants to go to Oxford?"

"Oh…I think it would be very beneficial for her."

"You should bring her down here sometime," replied Mondo. There was a rustle and Ema heard Stella irritably calling out her brother's name in the background. "Hi, Auntie Ema!"

Their aunt laughed. "Hi Mondo."

"It'll be a good vacation, especially from the divorce," he added. "Ow! Stella, that hurt!"

"Idiot! Don't say something like that!" yelled Stella.

"Ah, we gotta go, Auntie Ema! We have a class in twenty minutes."

"Take care, Auntie!"

"Bye, kids."

Ema ended the call with a smile.

England, huh?

(-- --)

**(November 12, 2043, Thursday)**

"Did you tell them yet?" asked Eva.

"No."

"Honey!"

"I'm sorry. Whenever I try to bring up the subject, they just suddenly become busy and won't listen," answered Klavier.

"Darling, talk to them diplomatically. Just discuss the matter calmly and rationally. Good luck." With a parting kiss, Eva went into her bedroom and shut the door.

Klavier nodded. He peeked into the girls' room and spotted Diana sketching the world outside of the window. He then went into the kitchen to find his daughters sitting on the counter, eating a bag of chips.

"So she finds out about Buck being dependant on the Countess," said Lotte. "What next?"

"She says that she's going to head back to perfume counter because she won't have anymore money once she's divorced Stephen. And then she says the coolest line ever," explained Lisa.

"What does she say?"

In her best arrogant voice, Lisa recited, ""And by the way, there's a name for you ladies, but it isn't used in high society – outside of a kennel.""

"Ooh, catty."

"It's better when Joan Crawford says it. You really should go watch the movie yourself."

"I know, but--"

"Hey, girls, can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Klavier.

"Yeah, sure."

"What is it, Dad?"

"I've been meaning to ask you, but what do you think of Eva?"

"As what, Dad?" asked Lotte. "Like your friend, a fashion model, a famous aviatrix, or something? You have to be a little more specific."

"As a person," said Klavier.

"Well, she's cute," Lotte said slowly.

"She has nice hair," added Lisa.

"Good teeth."

The twins looked at each other before saying together, "And overall, she's a complete stranger to us! Bye!" They slipped off of the counter and ran out of the room.

"Charlotte Gavin! Elizabeth Gavin! Get back here! I'm not done talking to you!" yelled Klavier. The girls sighed and slowed down as they went into the living room. Klavier caught up to them and pushed them down onto the couch. "Now just sit down and let me finish." He sat down on the coffee table.

"Okay, we're listening," said Lisa.

"Now…what would you think of…making Eva part of the family?" he asked tentatively.

The twins glanced at each other before putting on a fake smile.

"It's a wonderful idea, Dad!" exclaimed Lotte.

"Sensational!" said Lisa.

"You want to adopt, Eva!" they concluded.

Klavier frowned. "No. No! I don't want to adopt her. I wanna marry her."

Lotte and Lisa's faces turned from their phony smiles to scowls. They shot up from the couch. They had heard the forbidden words.

"MARRY HER?!" they screamed. "THAT'S INSANE!"

_"Vous ne pouvez pas l'épouser!"_ screamed Lotte.

_"Elle vient d'un enfant!"_ yelled Lisa.

_"Elle est assez vieux pour être notre grande soeur!"_

_"Elle a vingt ans de moins que toi!"_

_"Elle a le même âge que Kyra!"_

_"Et que dire de maman?!"_

"If you're going to speak in another language, then at least do it in one I can understand!" shouted Klavier.

_"Sie können nicht heiraten! Sie ist nur ein Kind!"_ screamed Lisa.

"She is not a child," he snapped. "Will you please stop referring to her as a child?"

_"Es ist alles relativ, Vater,"_ said Lotte.

_"Im Vergleich zu ihr, du bist ein alter Mann,"_ they answered together.

"I am not an old man!" roared Klavier.

"_**YOU ARE TOO! IT'S ABSOLUTELY REVOLTING! IN FACT, WE THINK IT STINKS!**_"

Lotte and Lisa continued to scream and rant, switching between French, German, and English. They grabbed the pillows from the couch and began smacking anything in the room. Klavier ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He got up from the table and walked over to where Eva was now watching.

"I try to talk to them, and they go absolutely hysterical!"

Eva chuckled. "Let me speak to them, honey. Women can understand these things better." Klavier waved with defeat and went into his room and closed the door.

With a tried groan, the girls collapsed back onto the couch, clutching the pillows.

Eva walked over, sitting down on the couch next to Lotte. "I guess the news of the engagement came as a shock."

"He's making an absolute fool of himself," huffed Lisa.

"Now, can't we just talk about this, calmly and rationally, like grown-up women?" asked Eva.

"I guess we could."

"You're both fifteen, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're old enough to understand the wonderful mystery of what happens between a man and a woman."

"Yes, I understand that," interrupted Lotte. "And we understand why Daddy likes you so much. You're very nicely put together."

Eva's eyes widened, obviously taken aback. "Yes, well…all my life I've been waiting for a man like your father--"

"If you've been waiting for someone like our father your whole life, then you obviously haven't waited that long," Lisa retorted.

"And if you've been waiting for someone like him, can't it be a man who's _not_ married?" added Lotte.

"I'm sure the "million" reasons why you love our Dad are all sitting in the bank," said Lisa.

Eva narrowed her eyes at the smirks on Lotte and Lisa's faces. Her sweet demeanor was gone, replaced with irritation. "Listen up, you brats. I am marrying your father once his divorce is finalized, so you just get used to the idea." She got up from the couch and stomped past them.

Lotte and Lisa glowered at Eva. "You wanna bet?" they asked scornfully.

Eva whirled around at them. She matched their glares with one of their own. "You're father underestimates you."

"I think you do, too," said Lotte.

"You are way over your head, girl." And with that, Eva turned around and walked out the door.

"That's what you think," they muttered.

(-- --)

**(November 13, 2043, Friday)**

"Mr. Gavin, the letters from New York have just arrived." Klavier's secretary handed him a stack of letters.

"Thank you."

When his secretary was gone, Klavier began looking through the letters, opening them one by one. He read over each one carefully and smiled.

Lotte was accepted.

(-- --)

**(November 14, 2043, Saturday)**

Diana peeked around the corner. Spotting Klavier turning the corner, and walking down the hallway, she ran back into the living room, jumping over the back of the couch and landing on the cushions. "Go! Play it!" she whispered.

Lisa hit the play button on the DVD player.

Klavier entered the room whistling. His tune quickly fell short when he saw what was on the screen. "Why are you watching my wedding video?" he asked sharply.

"We found it in your closet," answered Lisa.

He didn't remember taking his wedding video with him when he packed his bags. Maybe it got caught in something when he was packing? Did he bring it unconsciously?

All thoughts were driven into a corner as he watched the video. In it, he and Ema were reciting their vows to each other. There were close ups of Ema, her dark green eyes sparkling. He had forgotten about the wedding dress. It made her look like a princess. She _was_ a princess that day. She was marrying the prince she loved.

Klavier was stunned. The video was frozen in time and space. It could be rewound over and over again. He could suddenly remember all of the reasons why he fell in love with Ema Skye in the first place. It was those reasons why he asked her to become Mrs. Klavier Gavin.

It had to do with her eyes. The emotions in them drew him in. There were stars of excitement when she found clues at crime scenes. There were flames of anger when something didn't go her way. There was a sea of tears when she was overcome with sadness. There was tranquil serenity when she was staring off into space, lost in thought. Best of all, they sparkled like diamonds when she was in love.

It had to do with her smile. She didn't smile just for anyone. She reserved her best smiles for her favorite people. Like her eyes, her lips could convey a simple message. When she smiled cryptically, she was keeping a secret. When she smiled brightly, she was in high spirits. When she scowled, she was brimming with indignation. When she smiled coyly, she made thousands of men fall to their knees, completely in love with her. He was one of them. One time, he caught a glimpse of Ema's rare smile of a woman in love. It was then that he wanted to be on the receiving end of it. He wanted her to smile like that just for him and only him.

Whenever Ema laughed, it was music to his ears – so sleek and lustrous. When she batted her eyelashes so slowly, she only had eyes for the man in front of her. She was the finest metal in the whole universe and he was drawn to her like a magnet.

Lotte smiled softly and said, "Mom looks so gorgeous…"

Klavier swallowed the lump in his throat. "She is, indeed…" he mumbled without thinking.

Lotte and Lisa glanced at each other, smiling. Diana pretended to watch the video but she was really watching Klavier from the corner of her eye. She noticed the way his right hand began fiddling with his left hand's ring finger. He twisted his fingers and his hand even though there wasn't a gold band to twist.

Klavier blinked a few times, forcing himself to turn away from the video. On the video, he and Ema were walking down the aisle hand-in-hand, beaming at their guests.

Lisa looked back at her father. "Dad, why did you fall in love with Mom?"

He tried to ignore the way his heart was pounding in his chest when he softly answered, "Because…because she's a wonderful person. She's so beautiful and smart and funny… It's hard to explain…"

"Then…why did you do it? Why are you having an affair with Eva and pushing for this divorce?" she asked. "You talk about Mom so fondly and yet…"

"Daddy," begged Lotte, "please don't marry that woman."

Klavier didn't know what to say.

(-- --)

**(November 15, 2043, Sunday)**

"Girls, we're leaving," said Klavier as he passed through the living room.

Diana was sketching in her notepad while Lisa was reading a book on the couch, and Lotte was flipping through the channels.

Klavier held the door open as Eva strode across the room. "Goodbye girls," she said coolly.

"Bye." Lisa and Diana replied in a deadpan voice. They didn't look up from their work.

"Eat me…" mumbled Lotte. Lisa nudged her in the side and gave her a warning look. Eva glared back at the older twin, but Klavier ushered her out into the hall and shut the door. "Bitch."

No less than half an hour later, the doorbell rang. The twins looked at each other, and Lotte got up to open the door to reveal Richard with his hands behind his back. "Hi," she greeted with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Richard grinned. "I come bearing a gift." He revealed what he was hiding behind his back: an adorable Golden Retriever puppy.

"Peso!" Lotte cried out.

"Peso?!" asked Lisa, looking over the back of the couch.

"Peso!" Diana yelled out gleefully.

The puppy gave a short, affirmative bark and wagged his tail. Lisa and Diana ran up to join Lotte at the doorway. Diana scooped up the dog into her arms.

Peso was the Edgeworth family dog. Edgeworth had a big dog before named Pesu. Unfortunately, Pesu died of old age recently. Edgeworth was devastated, but Franziska tried to console him by buying Peso. No one complained, even Edgeworth. He still had his memories of his beloved dog still.

"By the way," said Richard, "Peso drank a lot of water on the way over here. I'm sure his little bladder is gonna explode soon."

"Diana, put him down," Lisa commanded immediately.

"O-okay…" Diana put Peso down on the floor. The puppy ran off, eagerly exploring its new space.

"Go do your business, puppy!"

"Do you have permission to do this?" asked Lotte.

"Yeah. My mom ordered me to bring Peso here."

Lisa chuckled. "Kudos to Auntie Franziska."

"If your dad asks, just say that everyone is so busy that we didn't want to leave Peso alone."

"Gotcha!" said Diana.

Richard smirked. "Have fun girls." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and left.

The three girls turned around to see Peso already wrecking havoc around the apartment. He peed on the carpet, ripped up one of Eva's dresses, and was chewing on one of her high heel shoes. The trash from the kitchen was scattered around.

"Hey, Lotte?" said Lisa.

"Hm?"

"Peso looks dirty, doesn't he?"

The twin girls looked at each other and grinned. "Oh, Peso?"

(-- --)

Once the door swung open, it looked like they had just entered hell.

There was a trail of pee on the carpet. There were ripped pieces of fabrics everywhere. Shoes were scattered around. There were puddles of water and soap on the floor. Diana was curled up on an armchair, and Lotte was asleep on the couch. Lisa was nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell happened here?!" yelled Klavier, slamming the door.

Eva's eyes widened. She rushed over to pick up the pieces of fabric from the floor. "My dress!" she shrieked.

A puppy barked and ran out of the bedroom, a skirt clamped in its mouth. He ran up to Klavier and viciously shook the skirt and barked again, wagging his tail.

"Peso?"

"Peso, be quiet. I'm trying to sleep…" mumbled Lotte.

"My dress!" Eva wailed. "It's Dior! Ripped to shreds!" She glared at the older Gavin twin on the couch. She wanted to grab the brat's hair and slap her ears until they bled.

Klavier nudged Lotte awake. "Where's your sister?"

"Mm…room…" Lotte rubbed her eyes, and managed to catch a glimpse of Eva's despairing face as she ran into her bedroom. She fought to control the laughter shattering her throat.

"MY ARMANI SHOES!" screamed Eva. "There's poo in them!"

Diana sat up in the chair and yawned. "Is Daddy doing Chords of Steel training?" she asked sleepily. "Where are my ear plugs?"

Klavier came back into the living room, dragging a half-awake Lisa by the arm. "Girls, what is Peso doing here?"

"Oh, Auntie Franziska said that we could take care of Peso for the afternoon while the Cadaverini case finished up," answered Lotte.

"You let Peso create this mess?!" he asked angrily.

"We didn't let him do anything!" protested Lisa, rubbing her eyes. "He probably woke up while we were still sleeping!"

He dragged his younger daughter to the bathroom and pushed open the door. There was dirt and soap splattered along the wall. The bathtub was filled with soap suds and water, and a wet towel lay forgotten on the floor. "And what about this?"

"Yes, we did this," admitted Lisa. "Peso was dirty when Richard dropped him off."

Eva pushed Lisa and Klavier out of the way and into the bathroom. She picked up the empty shampoo bottle from the floor. "My Alterna Ten shampoo!" she cried. She whirled around, wildly pointing at Lisa. "_You!_"

Lisa jerked her arm away from her father's grip and crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you so angry about? It's just a shampoo."

"It isn't just any shampoo! It's _Alterna Ten_!" snapped Eva. From the blank look on Lisa's face, she repeated, "_Alterna Ten!_"

Lisa scoffed. "You keep repeating the name, but it doesn't mean anything to me. Why don't you just buy another? It's not like it holds some kind of sentimental value."

"Your father was the one who bought me this!"

"Ooh, that's cozy," the girl remarked sarcastically.

"Lisa," warned Klavier.

"I ought to sue you!" answered Eva.

The laughter Lotte had been trying to hold back exploded. "You can't be serious!" she laughed.

Lisa smirked. "You're going to sue _us_? Over what? The mess we made in your bathroom?"

"Eva, really--" began Klavier.

"I'm serious, Klavier. I'm going to sue your daughters, and you'll be on my side."

Diana snorted before coughing to cover it up. "I guess I'll go call Daddy…"

(-- --)

"Mom! We're home!" called out the twins.

The Cadaverini case was over, and Ema could finally return to her normal schedule. She had earned money for all the overtime, which she really needed. Best of all, her daughters were finally home.

"In the kitchen!" The twins quickly rushed over and embraced their mother. "Oh my," replied Ema. "You must have missed me! How was your stay?"

"Terrible," answered Lisa.

"That woman's a bitch," commented Lotte.

"Lotte! Don't say something like that!" scolded their mother.

"Mom, in your heart, you know it, too!"

"We were taking care of Peso for the afternoon and he made a mess. Now she's suing us," said Lisa.

"What?!"

"The trial is tomorrow with Daddy as the prosecution and Uncle Polly as the defense."

"What did Peso do?"

"Well, he peed in the apartment, pooped in a few of Eva's shoes, ripped up several of her clothes, and went through the trash," listed Lotte. "Eva threw a fit."

Ema cracked a smile. She started laughing. "Well, isn't that a tragedy?" she asked sarcastically.

Lisa sighed. "We should go to bed. We have court tomorrow." She rolled her eyes with disdain. "Night, Mom."

"Goodnight, Mom."

"_Bonne nuit_."

(-- --)

**(???, ??, ????)**

"Hey, it's me. I want to talk to you about something."

"Oh, good. There's something I want to talk about with you, too. It's about the girls."

"What I have to say also has to do with them."

"Really? You go first."

"Well--"

* * *

Hey again! Tons of notes this time of around.

There are several references to _The Women_. It's a play written by Clare Boothe Luce in 1936. It was adapted into a movie in 1939, remade and titled as _The Opposite Sex_ in 1956, and then remade again in 2008. _The Women_ is famous for the cast completely being made up of women. Men are mentioned and talked about, but are not shown. (But in _The Opposite Sex_, there are male actors, changing the structure of the movie.) Crystal Allen is a character from the play, and she is a perfume sales girl who starts up an affair with Stephen Haines. Stephen's wife Mary finds out and divorces him. When it's finalized, Stephen marries Crystal, but after two years, he grows sick of her and Crystal has started up an affair with a cowboy named Buck Winston, who is married to Countess de Lave, one of Mary's friends from Reno. Mary manages to reveal everything in front of everyone. Crystal plans on divorcing Stephen and marrying Buck, but the Countess reveals that Buck isn't independent and is reliant on her money. Without the Countess, he's penniless. Defeated, Crystal plans on going to Reno until her divorce is finalized and then return to being a perfume sales girl. Then Mary is reunited with her husband. (Joan Crawford plays Crystal Allen in the 1939 version.)

As I was writing more of this story, I realized that this story is starting to have elements of _The Women_, so I wanted to include them.

Mondo, Stella, and Luna have very similar names. Their first names have to do with the night. "Mond" is actually German for "moon." "Stella" is Latin for "star," and "Luna" is Italian for "moon." Their middle names -- Lucian, Ellen, and Helaine -- all mean "light."

I was browsing Youtube, and I saw this video of Maya's theme being played on "Phoenix Wright's piano." It was very slow and beautiful. The title of it was "Phoenix Wright; laywer, pianist, legend." That's what inspired me on how I wanted Stella to be like. Video uploaded by Bankaipatchi on Youtube. Go check it out!

Eva's friend Vicky is a reference to Vicky from the original _Parent Trap_.

The dialogue when Klavier tells the twins about the engagement is modeled after both 1961 and 1998 versions of _Parent Trap._

French Translations

_Vous ne pouvez pas l'épouser!_ = "You can't marry her!"

_Elle vient d'un enfant!_ = "She's just a child!"

_Elle est assez vieux pour être notre grande soeur!_ = "She's old enough to be our big sister!"

_Elle a vingt ans de moins que toi!_ = "She's twenty years younger than you!"

_Elle a le même âge que Kyra!_ = "She's the same age as Kyra!"

_Et que dire de maman?! _= "And what about Mom?!"

German Translations

_Sie können nicht heiraten! Sie ist nur ein Kind!_ = "You can't marry her! She's just a child!"

_Es ist alles relativ, Vater._ = "It's all relative, Father."

_Im Vergleich zu ihr, du bist ein alter Mann._ = "Compared to her, you're an old man."

All French and German sentences were taken from Google translator. They are not 100% accurate.

Alterna Ten is one of the most expensive shampoos in the world. From where I checked, I think it said that it is about $60, but I think that there are way more expensive shampoos.

I think this story is going to run shorter than I expected. I expect maybe three more chapters?

That's it for now! See you next chapter.


	5. Courtroom Blues

(-- --)

Chapter 5

Courtroom Blues

**(November 16, 2043, Monday)**

The Judge banged his gavel. "The court is now in session for the trial of Miss Charlotte Gavin and Miss Elizabeth Gavin."

"The prosecution is ready…to rock," said Klavier.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," said Apollo.

Eva was suing Lotte and Lisa for the "destruction" of her belongings. If she won, she wanted to make the twins pay for everything they destroyed. Everyone thought that she was just being petty. After all, the twins weren't the ones who personally vandalized her belongings. It was Peso who was the one who destroyed Eva's stuff.

"I can't believe this is actually happening to us," Lisa whispered to Trucy.

"It's okay. Polly will be able to get you girls off the hook. This trial is a joke, and the jurors know it," replied Trucy.

"Now, Mr. Gavin," said the Judge, "your opening statement please."

Klavier glanced at Eva before reluctantly saying, "The prosecution will prove that Charlotte and Elizabeth Gavin have vandalized the property of Eva Hutchens by the way of a…puppy."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Is this some sort of joke?" asked the Judge.

Lisa and Lotte snorted with laughter. Eva shot them a glare from across the courtroom.

"Don't worry, we think so, too, Your Honor," giggled Lotte.

The Judge sighed. "Is there really a point to this then?"

"Yes there is, Your Honor!" yelled Eva. "I want those girls to be convicted of vandalism!"

"I guess we'll continue on. Mr. Gavin, please summon your first witness."

"I call Miss Diana Justice to the stand."

Diana took the stand, beaming. She was obviously excited to be in court with her Uncle Klavier and her father.

"Witness, please state your name and occupation," said Klavier.

Diana giggled and said, "But Uncle Klavy, you know who I am!"

"Diana, please. Just state your name and occupation."

"I don't get it though. You _know_ who I am. Is this really necessary?"

Lotte and Lisa looked up to cast an amused smile at Edgeworth, who was watching the spectacle. Edgeworth always had a problem with getting his witnesses to state their name and occupation.

"Diana," said Apollo, "just play along."

"Ooooookay…My name is Diana Justice, and I'm a student and I want to be an artist like my Mommy."

"Thank you. Now would you please testify as to what happened yesterday afternoon after Miss Hutchens and I left."

"Okay! So after you left, maybe about half an hour later, the doorbell rang. Lotte went to get the door. Lisa and I weren't paying much attention to it, but then we heard her yell out, "Peso!""

"_Hold it!_" yelled Apollo. "For the sake of our jurors, can you please tell us who Peso is?"

"Sure, Daddy," said the girl. "Peso is a Golden Retriever. He belongs to my Uncle Miles and Auntie Franziska."

"I see. Who brought Peso to the apartment?"

"That would be Richard, Uncle Miles' son."

"Mr. Edgeworth, is this true?" asked the Judge.

"Yes, Your Honor. We were finishing up the Cadaverini case yesterday, and because Peso is still a puppy, we didn't want to leave him alone for so long. Who knows what he'll do," explained Edgeworth. "So we had our son bring Peso to Miss Charlotte, Miss Elizabeth, and Miss Diana so they could watch over him for the afternoon."

"I see. Miss Justice, please continue on with your testimony. What happened after Richard Edgeworth brought Peso to the apartment?"

"Well, Peso was pretty dirty," lied Diana. "Richard said that he was digging in their backyard."

Franziska stood up, a secretive smile playing at her lips. "This is also true, Your Honor. I can testify to it."

"Thank you. Miss Justice, continue."

"So everyone decided to give Peso a bath. We made a mess in the bathroom--"

"_Hold it!_" yelled Apollo. "Why is that?"

"_Objection!_" yelled Klavier. "Why don't you let your daughter finish first?"

"As I was saying," said Diana, "we made a mess. Peso is pretty rowdy, and he kept shaking his fur so all the water and soap got everywhere."

"_Hold it!"_ interrupted Apollo. "What did you use to wash Peso?"

"I don't know. It was some shampoo in the bathroom."

"That wasn't _some_ shampoo!" yelled Eva. "It was a bottle of Alterna Ten!"

Klavier groaned, rubbing his temples. "Eva, honey, please stop talking."

"Are you joking?!"

The Judge banged his gavel. "Be quiet, Miss Hutchens or I will remove you from this courtroom and end this proceeding." Eva sat back in her seat, fuming. She shot dirty looks at Lotte and Lisa.

"I think she's PMSing," said Lotte, her voice barely a whisper. Lisa and Trucy burst out laughing. Nearby spectators snickered. The Judge smiled at the girls and didn't reprimand them.

Klavier sighed and held up an empty bottle of Alterna Ten. "This is the bottle of shampoo that was used to clean Peso."

The Judge rolled his eyes. "The court accepts this into evidence. Mr. Justice, please continue with your cross-examination."

"Yes, Your Honor. Now, Diana, why did you use this shampoo? You could have used your own."

"We couldn't have used our own shampoo and conditioner, Daddy," answered the girl.

"And why not?"

"Because the three of us had those travel sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner. You know! The ones you get from hotels. They were nearly empty! It wasn't enough to clean a dirty puppy."

"Understandable."

"_Objection!_" cut in Klavier. "That does not explain why you had to use _all_ of the shampoo!"

"Two-thirds of it was gone when we found it in the bathroom, and we had to wash a dirty puppy! What do you expect us to do?!" snapped Diana.

"That shampoo lathers a lot! It would be sufficient enough to use a little of it!"

"We cleaned the bathroom, didn't we?! I still don't understand why you're so upset!"

"Mr. Gavin, please stop badgering your own witness," said the Judge.

Klavier opened his mouth to retort, but quickly closed his mouth. He shut his eyes, taking a moment to control his temper. He took a deep breath and said, "I would like to move on. Miss Justice, please testify as to what happened after you finished giving Peso a bath."

"We dried Peso using the blow dryer," said Diana.

"_Et nous avons utilisé une brosse à dents d'Eva à se brosser les dents_," Lisa whispered to her sister. They smirked at each other.

"And what happened after that?" asked Apollo.

"We played with him. We chased him around and played tug-of-war with the dishcloth. He grew tired after a while and fell asleep next to the couch. We were tired, too, so we also fell asleep."

"Where did you girls sleep?"

"Lotte was on the couch, I fell asleep on the armchair, and Lisa went back to our room to nap."

"And what happened when you woke up?"

"Uncle Klavy was yelling. It was really annoying to hear, especially after such a nice nap."

"What was Mr. Gavin yelling about?"

"It was about Peso and why he was at the apartment, yadda yadda yadda… And then I heard Eva complaining about something. And then Uncle Klavy was yelling about the state of the bathroom. When I was awake completely, I saw that the apartment was a mess. There was stuff strewn about, chewed and ripped up."

"Diana, do you think that both Miss Gavins are responsible for "vandalizing" Miss Hutchens' belongings by using Peso as an excuse?"

"Of course not," she answered without any hesitation.

"Why are you saying that?!" snapped Eva. "I thought you were testifying against them!"

"I was under the impression that I was testifying to tell the truth, not turn the case in your favor," Diana said coldly.

The Judge banged his gavel. "I've heard enough. I would like to ask the jurors to make their verdict."

Not even a minute passed when the screen displayed the verdict. It was an unanimous vote. "Not Guilty" flashed across the screen, mocking Eva. Lotte and Lisa grinned as confetti streamed around the room.

(-- --)

"What a waste of time," muttered Ema as she and her daughters walked through the courthouse's lobby.

Lisa stretched her arms and yawned. "It was a good show watching that woman make a fool out of herself."

"I'll say. Did you see her face when the verdict appeared on the screen?" laughed Lotte. "I wish I had a camera!"

"So Mom, what are we going to do now? Are you going to take us to school?"

Ema yawned. "Do you want to go back to school? I was thinking of taking you girls out to lunch with Trucy, Diana, and Apollo."

"Ooooh, lunch with a few of our favorite people! I won't say no to that!" answered Lotte.

Lisa sighed. "Really? Because I was hoping--"

"No, Lisa," cut in her sister. "You'll be the valedictorian of our class in three years. You can go an afternoon without going to class. You're already three weeks ahead of the material anyway."

Lisa frowned, twisting her hands together. "Oh, okay…"

The three of them were about to head out the door when the twins heard their name being called. They turned around to see their father running up to them. Ema's hands rested on their shoulders. They were surprised that she wasn't administering a death grip from seeing her soon to be ex-husband.

"Girls, I'm sorry," said Klavier. "I'm really sorry about this whole mess. Is there something I can do to make it up to you?"

They resisted looking up at Ema. "We can think of a few things," they replied. _Like going back to Mom._

"What is it?"

"Klavier!" called Eva.

Klavier pursed his lips, trying to bite back his exasperated groan. He forced a smile as his fiancée sidled up next to him.

"_Parfois, je voudrais avoir des pouvoirs de Médée_," whispered Lotte to her sister. "_Alors je poison robe d'Eva et la regarder prendre feu quand elle l'enfile_."

"_Vous l'avez dit._"

"Oh there you are! You left the courtroom so suddenly!"

"I'm sorry, honey," he said through gritted teeth.

Eva caught the twins' eyes and gave them a cool stare of acknowledgment. "Girls."

"We would like to introduce you to our mother, Ema Gavin," they replied, gesturing to Ema.

"Soon to be "Skye," girls," corrected Ema. Klavier looked at her with surprise.

Eva and Ema looked at each other with a critical eye. Lotte and Lisa wished that their mother went through some kind of transformation like Maureen O'Hara did. That way, their mother's looks could be on par with Eva's. Their mother was beautiful though, especially when she dressed up, but at the moment, she was wearing her detective uniform and a lab coat over it, hiding her body. The girls knew that Eva wouldn't try anything funny around Ema, and it all had to do with the gun attached to her belt.

"How do you do?" asked Ema.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Eva.

"So you're the one going to be the next Mrs. Gavin." Ema looked at the other woman up and down. "I must say that you are young."

Eva attached herself to Klavier's arm. "Well, isn't that lucky for Klavier?"

Ema chuckled. "Well, aren't you a sweet child?" The fake smile disappeared from Eva's face. Ema tapped her daughters' shoulders. "Let's go girls. We don't want to keep the others waiting."

Lotte and Lisa smirked at Eva's angry face. She had been defeated twice in one day – first by the daughters and then again by the mother. Mrs. Ema Gavin always got the last laugh.

(-- --)

"I really like the periwinkle, Auntie Trucy," commented Lotte. She smoothed out the fabric of the dress as she held up the dress to her body, admiring it in the mirror.

Lunch was over, and Trucy had dragged Ema and the twins to the tailor. Lotte and Lisa were going to be bridesmaids in her wedding and they needed to get their dresses fitted. Apollo and Diana left once the bill was paid. Diana needed to go to the store and pick up another sketchbook and more paints.

"Isn't it great? Come on; let's get you into it to see what kinds of alterations need to be made."

Ema got up from her seat and tapped her youngest daughter on the shoulder. "Lisa, come with me. We need to talk."

Lisa frowned but didn't object. Did she do something wrong? She bookmarked her page in her book and followed after her mother outside. "What's up, mom?"

"Lisa…have you started thinking about college yet?" asked Ema.

"College? Well, yeah, occasionally. Why do you ask?"

"Last week, your cousins called me. They were wondering if you would want to go to Oxford after graduating high school."

Lisa's mouth dropped. "Wow! Really?!"

Ema smiled. "You certainly have what it takes to get in. It won't be a problem."

"But…what about the cost? Wouldn't it be very expensive?"

"We'll work something out. Mondo and Stella want you to visit them sometime so they can give you a tour around the campus and give you a head start on the requirements to get in." At that moment, Ema's phone began to ring. She quickly answered it and said, "Hello?... Yes… Yes, I just told her… Huh?" Ema handed the phone to her daughter.

"Hello?"

"Cooooooome to Englaaaaaaaaaaaand!" yelled Stella from the other line.

"Stella?!"

"I hope you're not going to wait until your junior year to visit the campus," added Mondo from the background. "You should visit us right away."

"Ooh, yeah! We'll be back next week because of Thanksgiving break and we'll be in LA for two, so when school is gonna start up again, you should totally get on the plane with us!"

Lisa laughed. "Is that really okay?"

"Hell yeah!" said Mondo.

The girl turned to her mother. "Mom?"

"Oh, Auntie Ema said she already approves."

Ema snatched the phone from Lisa. "Hey, I said I approved of Lisa going to England, but what about your finals?"

"Finals won't start until the week after we go back."

"Hmph. You do know that I'll be going as well. Who knows what'll happen if I just let Lisa go by herself."

"Hey! I'm responsible!" protested Lisa.

"Oh, fine. So will you come out to England in December?" asked Stella. "It'll do some good for Lisa and you, Auntie Ema. Mom says that the last time you were in Europe was when you failed your forensic science test."

Ema clenched her hand, her nails digging into her palm. "I would appreciate it if you don't mention that."

"Yeah, Stella, don't mention that," prodded Mondo, playfully.

"Shut up, Mondo!"

Trucy poked her head out from inside the shop. "Hey, Lisa, get in here! You have to try on your dress next!"

"Okay!"

"Oh, do you have to go?" asked Stella.

"Yes," answered Ema.

"Well, then tell Lisa to mark December 5 on her calendar!"

"And say hi to Auntie Trucy for us!"

"Bye!"

(-- --)

**(November 26, 2043, Thursday)**

It was Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving was always a big deal with the family because _everyone_ was invited. It was always fun to have everyone at the same table for special occasions. The home where the celebration was held changed every year, but everyone favored the Gavin's or the Edgeworth's homes because their houses were bigger. This year, it was being held in Ema's home.

Everyone was in the house. Ema was currently cooking in the kitchen with her sister, Pearl, Franziska and Vera. Maggey, Maya, and Trucy were considered to be bad cooks and were forbidden from helping let alone entering a kitchen. With one move, the kitchen would blow up and be "lost." (Edgeworth hated that phrase. After all, it reminded him of a sick day involving an ashen-faced Phoenix and Larry and his kitchen.) The guys except Klavier, Phoenix, Edgeworth, and Apollo were busy watching football. Phoenix and Apollo were busy talking about being a defense attorney with Stella.

Upstairs, Lotte slammed her sister's bedroom door open in her excitement. Lisa looked up from her notebook and raised an eyebrow at the sight of her sister's beaming face.

"Oh my gosh, guess what happened!" screamed Lotte. She quickly shut the door, bouncing in place.

"What?"

"Daddy submitted an application to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts on my behalf, and I GOT IN!"

The textbook slipped off of Lisa's lap as she shot up from her seat to hug her sister. "Oh, that's great! Congratulations!"

"Thanks! Daddy said that they were so intrigued by me that they want me to start next semester!"

"Wow! But who are you going to stay with?"

"Dad says that he's gonna live in New York until the divorce is finalized, so he said that I'll just live with him! And he wants me to go with him to go pick a place out so we're going to be leaving on December 5--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!" Lisa cut in quickly. "Did you just say December 5?"

Lotte blinked, bemused. "Yeah…"

"That's when Mom and I are leaving for England with Stella and Mondo."

The girls frowned, staring at each other. The light bulb in their heads turned on and they gasped, pointing at each other.

"But they wouldn't!" said Lotte.

Lisa closed her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "They're probably going to rework the custody rights in the divorce."

"So, what? Are they using these trips to get us used to being separated from each other?" Lotte sat down on Lisa's bed and sighed. "All of a sudden, I don't want to go to LaGuardia anymore. I don't want to be on the opposite of the country away from you and Mom."

"It's gonna happen eventually," said Lisa, sinking down into her chair. "I mean, look at college. I'm probably gonna end up going to Oxford. Do you want to go there, too, just so we'd still be together?"

"I don't know…I'll go study music in London or something. That way, we'd be only an hour away. It won't be any fun if we're not together. I mean, look at Mondo and Stella. Stella has wanted to study at Oxford since she became determined to study law, and Mondo could have gone to Yale for medical school, but he wanted to be closer to her," explained Lotte.

"Lotte, I think it would be okay for college, but not under these circumstances. Not with the divorce still going on."

"This is stupid," Lotte retorted. "I don't want a six month split! I don't want to be across the country just because my dad won't give up the woman he's been fucking!"

"We have to do _something_."

"Like what?!"

There was a knock at the door. With an exasperated sigh, Lisa said, "Come in!"

Luna opened the door and peered inside. "Hey, your mom wants you both downstairs." Seeing the displeased faces of her cousins, she pushed the door open a little wider. "What's eating you guys?"

"The stupidity of our parents," Lotte answered crossly.

"Ah, gotcha. Time's ticking, y'know."

"Please don't remind us," said Lisa. "On the other hand, you're going to help us."

Luna smiled. "With pleasure."

"When are you guys going on your winter camping trip?"

"Saturday, the fifth of December."

The twins looked at each other and grinned. "That's perfect!"

"Of course it is," said Luna. "Uncle Nick told my parents about some of the things you girls were thinking about and that included the camping trip. Then they heard from Stella that Lisa and Auntie Ema were going to England with her and Mondo on December 5 so they switched our reservation for the camping ground."

"How'd they manage that?" asked Lisa.

"Let's just say that my dad has the connections and my mom is persuasive."

"So Auntie Lana and Uncle Jake will take the four of us camping?"

"Uh huh."

"Hey, you girls should stop fooling around and get downstairs before your mom gets mad," said a voice. Luna turned around to see Kyra.

Kyra Margaret Gumshoe was the daughter of Dick Gumshoe and Maggey. She was twenty-one and a student at the University of Arizona. She was an aspiring actress, and she really wanted study acting in New York, but her parents couldn't afford it. As such, she worked in a cosmetics store to earn money for New York. She looked exactly like her mother; however she was nothing like her parents. It was often joked that Kyra wasn't Gumshoe and Maggey's biological daughter at all. Kyra was down-to-earth and mellow. She was an excellent actress, able to slip into different "glass masks" easily.

Lisa and Lotte sat still for a moment before getting up.

"We should go," said Lisa.

"Yeah," said Lotte. "Mom bought her holiday Snackoos. I really don't want to get hit by them."

The twins followed after Luna and Kyra and downstairs. Everyone at the table talked and laughed. The glass masks of Lotte and Lisa joined in, smiling and making jokes. Behind them, they were distressed. It was a dire situation, and immediate action needed to be taken. They weren't going to lose. They were going to complete this parent trap no matter what it took.

(-- --)

**(December 4, 2043, Friday)**

Ema looked around uneasily. Did Maya really have to set the blind date up at this restaurant? This place had way too many memories for her, and she didn't want to remember them.

"This way, madam," said the hostess. The lady led her deeper into the restaurant. Ema gazed at the band on the stage, a woman singing classic songs. Couples were dancing on the floor, their lives obviously happier than hers. The hostess stopped and pulled a chair out for Ema. "Here we are, madam."

Ema turned her head back to her table, and felt her heart stop. The man at the table looked up at her, his ocean blue eyes halting on her. They loitered at her face before traveling down, admiring her pale blue gown. "I-I'm sorry," said Ema. "There must be some mistake!"

"Mistake? I don't think so madam. The table was reserved for Klavier and Ema Gavin, and that is both of you, is it not?"

Ema swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to ignore her heart's tremor. "Y-yes, t-that's right." She forced her shaking legs to walk and sit down on the chair. The hostess handed her and Klavier a menu.

"Your server will be with you shortly. Enjoy your meal." With a smile, the hostess left.

Ema opened up her menu, avoiding looking into Klavier's eyes.

"How are you, Ema?" asked Klavier, his voice gentle.

"Surprised, honestly." She took a sip of water. "I didn't think my blind date would be you."

"Blind date?"

She laughed nervously. "Yeah. Maya said that I should get back to dating and she offered to set me up."

"And you accepted?"

She shrugged. "I guess."

Klavier looked down at his menu, obscuring his face a little. His knuckled turned white as he held the menu with more force than necessary. "I received a note from Eva saying that she wanted to have dinner here tonight," he said. "Now after seeing you, I'm certain that Diana or Vera forged it."

"Conspiracy…"

Klavier chuckled. "Well, let's just enjoy the meal, shall we?"

"Are you paying?"

Klavier's eyes shot up to meet Ema's. She was smirking. It was little things like that that loosened the tension. It almost felt like they weren't going through a divorce at all and they were just starting to date. He laughed. "I guess I am. What do you want to order?"

Ema shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Anything would be fine just as long as it isn't a salad, spaghetti, or a chocolate cake."

He smiled. "Of course. I haven't forgotten that."

"I don't mind eating those foods in my own home, but not in a restaurant," said Ema. "Especially in this one."

"I really did think you looked beautiful that night," commented Klavier. "Even with noodles on your head."

"Oh, stop it."

"No, really! You looked so cute with your cheeks flushed."

"Maybe you mistook it for tomato sauce."

"No, it definitely wasn't that."

Ema was grateful when the waiter came by to fill their glasses with wine. She immediately picked it up and hid the pink dust on her cheeks behind the glass of red wine. The waiter came back to take their orders. Klavier ordered a steak while Ema ordered salmon. When he left, Ema turned away from Klavier to listen to the singer.

"_But I'm in so deep. You know I'm such a fool for you_," sang the singer, "_You've got me wrapped around finger. Do you have to let it linger? Do you have to, do you have to, do have to let it linger?"_

"Do you think," she began, "we made a mistake?"

"About what?"

"About getting married so quickly. I mean, we only dated for three months before getting married."

His eyes bore into hers, serious and determined. "I never thought it was a mistake."

"Then what was it?"

Klavier looked at her straight in the eye, and without any hesitation, he answered, "One of the best decisions in my life."

Ema flushed again. She wanted to stand up and call him a liar. Her lingering feelings kept her glued to her seat. If it was so great asking her to marry him, why did he want to divorce her? She wanted to hope for a lot of things like he was still in love with her or he would go back to her. But she didn't know how much hope she had left in her.

They fell into silence again when their food arrived. She kept her eyes down on her plate. Klavier's eyes constantly flickered up at her. What should he say? Was she finally moving on? That's probably why she accepted the invitation to a blind date. He could feel his chest tighten at the idea. He suddenly felt like a man of property – first he wanted her, and then he didn't, but he wouldn't allow anybody else to have her. No, that wasn't right. He wanted – no, he had – no, he _has_ her. But by next month, she wouldn't be his anymore. The very idea of the divorce suddenly made him sick now. All of the things he put her through for the past year made him sick. What had he been thinking? He didn't blame anyone but himself. He laughed bitterly in his head. He felt like he was twenty-four again. He was pining after her. She was still rightfully his wife. Her most special smiles and laughs were supposed to be reserved for him, and only him. All he had to do was rip up the separation and divorce papers and confess his love for her again. But why would Ema care how he feels? Hadn't she cried enough tears over him?

And what about Eva? Somehow, he felt obligated to marry her. He didn't have many options. It was because of her that he had a place to stay. Apollo and Phoenix was probably still cross about him leaving Ema and wouldn't let him stay with them. He was never very close to Edgeworth and Gumshoe. Lana held a little contempt for him because he was the one who stole away her baby sister after three months and especially now since he cheated and broke Ema's heart. And Maya and Pearl lived too far away. He had begun to grow weary of Eva. It was probably ever since she freaked out over what Peso did to her belongings and then sued his daughters for something so petty. He bought more expensive things for her, but she always wanted more. He couldn't bear another day with her. True, he wanted Lotte to go to LaGuardia before so she could expand her talent, but now he had another reason to move to New York. He wanted to get away from her, and if he had one of his daughters, he wouldn't feel so alone, so far away.

"Are you really planning on changing your last name back to Skye?" Klavier blurted out.

Ema looked up from her food with surprise. "Of course. Why should I keep your name?"

"It goes well with yours."

She smiled sadly. "I think only one woman should be Mrs. Klavier Gavin."

_And it should still be you_, he thought.

"_Someday, when I'm awfully low, and the world is cold_," sang the singer, _"I will feel a glow just thinking of you – and the way you look tonight."_

Their heads turned to the stage, and they smiled.

"I've been hearing that song everywhere lately," said Ema with a soft sigh.

Klavier got up from his seat and moved over to Ema's side, holding out his hand. She stared at it before her small hand slipped into his. He twirled her on the dance floor before pulling her into a close embrace, their cheeks touching. Oh, he had missed the warmth of her body, the softness of her hair, and the lovely smell of her perfume. He didn't want to acknowledge that this may be the last time he would ever get to hold Ema like this. Tomorrow, he was taking Lotte to New York, and Ema was taking Lisa to England. They were moving farther and farther away, not only in the distance in their hearts but soon to be in miles.

(-- --)

**(December 5, 2043, Saturday)**

Klavier ran his finger along the picture frames on the mantelpiece. He turned around to glance at Ema who was sitting patiently on the couch.

"I'll have Lotte call you once we land in New York," he replied.

Ema smiled softly. "Thank you. Lisa will call once we land in Oxford."

A few minutes passed by in silence, but Klavier and Ema soon heard slow footsteps descending the stairs. They both looked up to see their daughters dressed in the same clothes and completely unready for their flight. They looked exactly like, and there was no way their parents could tell them apart. They didn't do twin switches often, but they certainly could pull it off whenever they wanted to. Lotte and Lisa smiled pleasantly at their parents' frowns.

"Girls, what is this?!" demanded Ema. "Why aren't you ready to leave?!"

"Oh, we are ready to leave," said Lotte.

"Just not on those flights," said Lisa.

"We've been thinking it over, and we decided that we were getting gypped."

"Yeah, gypped," echoed Lisa.

"This is isn't funny girls," said Klavier. "You're going to make us miss our flights."

"That's the whole idea!" they answered together.

Ema's mouth fell open in horror. "What?" She grabbed Lotte and pointed at the stairs. "Lisa, go upstairs and change!"

"I'm not Lisa!" protested the older twin. "I'm Lotte!"

Lisa frowned. "I thought you were Lisa and I was Lotte."

Lotte frowned as well and pointed to her sister. "No, you're Lotte and I'm Lisa."

"Oh yeah, you're right. You're Lisa and I'm Lotte."

"No, no, no, it's definitely the other way around."

"Oh, so I'm Lisa and you're Lotte?"

Ema massaged her temples and said, "Either one of you is Lotte or one of you is Lisa."

Klavier groaned. "Lotte--"

"Yes, Daddy?" asked Lisa.

"Yes, Daddy?" echoed Lotte.

"That's not funny!" Ema yelled to Lotte.

"That's not funny!" Lotte repeated to Lisa.

"That's not funny!" Lisa repeated to her father.

Klavier put a hand on Lisa's shoulder. "Oh, this one has to be Lotte. She's the smart alec here."

"Are you sure?" asked Ema.

"Of course, I'm sure! I know my own daughters, don't I?"

Lisa laughed. "You're not really sure, are you Daddy?"

"Yeah, because I'm Lotte," said Lotte.

"_No_, I'm Lotte," said Lisa.

"_No_, I'm Lotte."

"_No_, I'm Lotte."

"You're right, you're Lotte. I'm Lisa."

"_No_, I'm Lisa."

"_No_, I'm Lisa."

"_No_, I'm Lisa."

"Stop it!" screamed Ema.

The twins ceased their identity crisis and smiled brightly at their parents.

"I think they're ready to listen," said Lisa.

Lotte nodded. "Here's the deal. The four of us are going to pack our bags and go on a lovely camping trip into the mountains."

"Immediately."

"Camping trip?" asked Klavier.

"Uh huh. Every year, Uncle Jake, Auntie Lana, and our cousins always go on a winter camping trip for a weekend, and they've invited us to go along with them this year."

"We're going to join them this year as a kind of "final family get together.""

"And when you bring us back, we'll tell you who is Lotte and who is Lisa!"

"I-immediately...?" questioned Ema.

"Yes, immediately," said Lisa. "Do we need to say it in something you can understand?"

"_Immédiatement._"

"_Sofort._"

They heard a car pull up into the driveway of the house and honk its horn.

"Ema! Klavier!" called Lana from outside.

"Lotte! Lisa!" yelled Luna.

"Let's get this show on the road!" shouted Jake.

The twins grinned. "Right on time!"

* * *

College is starting to kill me. As a word of advice, do not take five classes and a lab, because it will suck the life out of you. Soooooo, anyway, notes!

When I was first planning the story, I was debating whether or not to put in the trial scene. But I am happy I did now because I thought it was a lot of fun. I tried to make it as close as possible to the format it is in the games.

Yes, I did drop an f-bomb this chapter. But hey, this is a Teen rating, and I am allowed to drop one f-bomb in a Teen rating story. I mean, a teen rating is the equivalent to a PG-13 movie, right? In a few PG-13 movies, they drop f-bombs! I mean, look at _Pretty in Pink_, _Sixteen Candles_, and _The Jane Austen Book Club_. They were PG-13 movies, and they dropped one f-bomb. Actually, according to my _Sixteen Candles_ DVD, that movie was rated PG. But I digress. If it offends anyone or it takes away from the story, please tell me, and I will change it. Actually, in the original draft of the first chapter, Ema was going to drop an f-bomb right off the bat during her argument with Klavier.

Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a real school in New York. A _lot_ of famous people attended there.

A "glass mask" is a metaphor for the different faces and emotions that actors wear. Their acting is as fragile as glass, and if they get distracted, the mask will break and the actor's true self will be seen. The usage was inspired by the manga "Glass Mask" by Suzue Miuchi.

The first song sung in the restaurant is _Linger_ by The Cranberries. I feel like that song is absolutely perfect for cheating couples or unrequited love.

I wanted Klavier's feelings to match Stephen's from _The Women_ and _The Opposite Sex_ when Mary/Kay's daughter reveals Stephen's true feelings about Crystal. While Stephen doesn't say his feelings outright, the daughter knows what he is feeling. In _The Women_, Little Mary reveals that her father is only going to up Canada to get away from Crystal because he can't stand her anymore.

"Man of property" is a reference to _The Forsyte Saga_ by John Galsworthy. Soames Forsyte is regarded as a man of property throughout the novel, but I actually meant it to reference Jon Forsyte and base it around some dialogue from the 2003 adaptation of _The Forsyte Saga: To Let_. In this series, second cousins Jon and Fleur Forsyte fall in love whose parents are feuding over something that happened in the first series. But after finding out when Fleur's father did to his mother long ago in the past, he breaks off his relationship with Fleur. Fleur then becomes engaged to a baronet. They meet one last time, and Jon begs her not to marry the baronet, but he doesn't want her himself. She says something along the lines of, "And what is that, if not possession?" She leaves Jon and later gets married, and he runs off to live in America.

Ugh, when writing the dialogue for the "twin switch," even I started to get confused as to which twin was talking. I wanted to make it as confusing as possible, but you should be able to tell which twin is talking if you count the lines.

French Translations

_Et nous avons utilisé une brosse à dents d'Eva à se brosser les dents._ = And we used Eva's toothbrush to brush his teeth.

_Parfois, je voudrais avoir des pouvoirs de Médée._ = Sometimes I wish I had Medea's power.

_Alors je poison robe d'Eva et la regarder prendre feu quand elle l'enfile._ = So I could poison her dress and watch her burn when she puts it on.

_Vous l'avez dit. _= You said it.

All translations were taken from Google translator and are not 100% accurate. (Although, it's been a while since I wrote these lines, so I forgot what the English lines originally were.)

Lotte was talking about the Greek mythology figure, Medea. She had powers of a sorceress. Because of Aphrodite or Cupid's powers, she fell in love with Jason of the Argonauts and helped him claim the Golden Fleece. They got married and had two sons together. However, Jason wanted to banish Medea so he could marry the princess of Corinth and become king. Angry, Medea poisoned a crown and a dress and sent it to the princess. When she put it on, she was consumed in flames and died. It is said that the princess's father also died when he tried to save his daughters. Medea then murdered her two sons and was pulled away on a chariot pulled by dragons.

Phew. That's it for now. Two more chapters left! Next is the camping trip and then the epilogue. Stay tuned for more!


	6. Claws and Jungle Red

(-- --)

Chapter 6

Claws and Jungle Red

"And what am I supposed to do for three days? Stay home and knit?!" demanded Eva.

"It's not my fault, Eva," said Klavier. "How else am I supposed to find out which daughter is which?"

"Give them a good spanking and make them tell!"

"You don't spank fifteen year olds."

Giving into their daughters' demands, Ema and Klavier began getting ready to go camping. They had gone winter camping several times with Jake and Lana and their kids, so they knew what to expect. They began packing up their belongings and changed into warmer clothes for the cold hike up to the camping ground.

Ema spotted Eva from the doorway. She began to whistle to break up some of the tension as she went outside to put her backpack into the trunk of Jake's truck.

Eva noticed her and her head snapped back to Klavier. "Excuse me?! What is _she_ doing here?"

"That's part of the deal. We have to go as a family--"

"What are you, the Brady Bunch now?!"

"Hello!" Ema greeted pleasantly. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes, there is," gritted Eva, trying to control her temper. "I didn't know you were going on this little outing, and I'm not okay with it."

"Oh, definitely. An estranged married couple spending three days together sounds pretty awkward…" Ema brightened up. "Oh, I know! Why don't you come with us?"

"I think I will."

"Ema, what're you--" began Klavier.

"Now, we have to get you into some new clothes appropriate for camping," said Ema, grabbing Eva by the arm and hauling her inside.

Half an hour later, Lotte and Lisa came out of the house with their own backpacks. Jake was trying his best to squish all of the equipment on the roof and in the back. There were a few backpacks and other bags that he took out and set down on the sidewalk.

"Uncle Jake! We got the rest of the stuff!" yelled Lisa.

"All right, give 'em to me."

Luna came out of the house holding a duffel bag. "Hey, are you girls bringing this?"

The twins glanced at each other. "I don't think so--" said Lotte.

"Where does she think she's going?!" yelled Lisa, spotting Eva dressed in warm clothes and ready for the trip.

"Your mother invited her," said Klavier in a bored voice from the front seat.

"She can't come along!"

"Be nice, girls."

Lotte scowled and snatched the duffel bag from Luna's hands. "Gimme that." She shoved it into the backseat and climbed in, followed by her sister and Luna.

"Here we go! All ready to go!" said Ema with a smile. Eva climbed into the car next to Klavier. Lana sidled up next to her sister with a smirk. "Go on, Jake. Drive on."

"Ema, what are you doing?" asked Klavier.

"Oh, I think that you and Eva ought to have fun together up there!" Ema answered innocently. "I would just get in your way."

"Yes. And there are too many people now, so I'll just stay here and keep Ema company," added Lana.

"If you're not going--" began Eva.

"Oh, no! Don't worry, Eva! You know, this is an opportunity to get to know the girls better. After all," said Ema, "in one month, they'll be _half yours_." She beamed and banged on the side of the car twice. "Go, Jake!"

Jake turned on the ignition and drove off as Ema and Lana waved goodbye.

Lana laughed as the car was almost out of sight. "Oh, that woman is going to go through hell."

Ema chuckled, grabbing her sister's bags. "At least it will keep her warm in the snow."

(-- --)

Snow crunched under a multitude of boots. Footprints were indistinguishable now. Jake and Klavier led the group through the trail to the campsite. Lotte and Luna were followed after by Eva and Lisa brought up the rear. The car was parked at the entrance of the grounds. The campsite Jake had reserved was up a steep hill.

Eva let out a tired groan. Jake glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "We ought to take another break."

"_Again_?" asked Luna. "This is the third time in half an hour, and we're not even halfway there yet!"

"Bambina, give it a rest."

"Oh, I'm so tired… But what fun!" lied Eva. She brushed away the snow from a rock and sat down, taking off of her backpack. She did not see Lisa grab her backpack and open it up, dumping a bunch of small rocks inside it. Lotte turned away to hide her smirk.

"It'll probably be about an hour or so before we get to the campsite," said Klavier, reaching into his pocket to withdraw a map of the grounds.

Eva rubbed her arms, shivering. "It sure is cold…"

"Well, duh," retorted Luna. "It's winter and there's snow everywhere. And you're wearing nothing but a tank top under your jacket. You're probably not even wearing thermal under your clothes. Honey, this is camping, not a goddamn fashion show."

Eva glowered at Luna. "Watch how you talk to me," she warned.

Luna scoffed. "Girly, you're only three years older than me. I don't have to show you any respect."

Jake yawned, making no move to reprimand his daughter.

"You'll regret this."

Luna shot her a dirty look and crossed her arms. "I don't give a shit. I'll do whatever I want. You're not marrying _my_ dad."

Eva was so occupied with her spat with Luna that Eva did not notice Lisa dumping out her bottle of sunscreen and replacing it with superglue. Klavier was too busy as well; he and Jake were looking at the map. Lotte spotted a tree lizard and plucked it off of the trunk of a tree.

"Ooh, look!" cried out Lotte. She held up the lizard, shoving it into Eva's face.

The woman shrieked, scrambling up and nearly running over the ledge of the hill. Klavier grabbed her by the arm and yanked her onto more solid ground.

"Jesus, calm down!" he roared.

"What? It's just a harmless old tree lizard! I can't believe they'd still be here around this time of year!" said Lotte. "It's so cute! See?" She put the struggling creature close to Eva's face.

She shrieked again, wildly waving her hands. "_GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME! IT'S DISGUSTING!"_

"God, do you really want to start an avalanche?" mumbled Luna. "Moron…"

Lotte rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Fine, I'll put it down." She moved around behind Eva and dropped the lizard into the hood of her parka. At the same moment, Lisa thrust snow, rocks, and the bottle of sunscreen into Eva's backpack and closed it up.

Jake folded up the map and straightened up. "All right, let's get moving or else we'll freeze before we can get to the campsite."

"Jake and I will go ahead," said Klavier, fixing his backpack. "Girls, you help Eva."

Jake and Klavier moved on, leaving the girls behind. Eva snatched her backpack and grunted as she put it on.

"Sure, you'll help me," she snapped. "Right over a cliff you'll help me…"

"Not a bad idea. See any cliffs?" Lisa muttered to her sister and her cousin.

"Don't think that I can't see beyond those angelic faces. I will make your lives miserable the day I say, "I do."" She turned around to continue down the path the two men went down before. "Ugh, this backpack is so heavy!"

"Maybe your big ego can help carry it for you," said Lotte.

She stopped and slowly turned around. "_What_ did you say?!"

The twins and Luna smirked at each other as they began walking ahead of Eva. "Nothing! Nothing!"

"And by the way," said Lisa with an innocent smile, "I think there's something in your hood."

Eva frowned and flipped her hood onto her head. She felt something plop onto it. Her hands roamed until she felt something small and scaly… She screamed again, running around frantically, trying to get the lizard off of her. She screeched for help, but no one bothered to turn around.

(-- --)

Eva didn't know if she was close to the campsite yet. She was cold, tired, and pissed off. Some help those brats were. She found them huddled near a tree. She dropped her backpack and sat down in the snow for a rest.

Luna, Lotte, and Lisa looked at each other, peeking around the tree at Eva. They grinned.

"Hey, look at this," Luna said loudly. "These are mountain lion tracks."

"Really?" asked Lotte.

"I've seen them in pictures. It's definitely a mountain lion," said Lisa.

Eva listened closely.

"My dad says that a ton of them live up here! They're especially vicious this time of year. There aren't enough animals to eat up around this time so they're really hungry," explained Luna. "They'll eat humans when their hungry, y'know."

"So what do we do?" asked Lotte.

"My dad taught me an old trick. You just bang two sticks together--" Luna demonstrated. "--and it'll scare the mountain lions away.

"Like this?" asked Lisa. She banged two sticks together.

"Yeah, like that. Come on."

The three girls got up and began banging two sticks together as they walked on. Behind the tree, Eva gulped. She looked around for two sticks. She didn't want to be eaten by a mountain lion! Just think of the dresses and shoes and perfume she would miss out on! Upon finding two sticks, she seized them and began banging them together constantly as she tried to catch up to the twins and Luna.

The three girls turned around to see Eva hitting the sticks together in different directions. They resisted the urge to burst out laughing. Luna pointed forward.

"Just keep going down there and you'll reach the campsite. I'll catch up with you in a minute."

"What are you plotting?" asked Lotte.

Luna smiled deviously. "Just keep an eye on Eva." And with that, she strayed away from the trail and into the thicker wood. The twins continued to walk, glancing over their shoulders at Eva.

"_**ROAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!**_"

Eva jumped up a mile and screamed, wildly banging the sticks together. Lotte and Lisa burst out laughing as they ran down along the path.

"It's a mountain lion!" yelled Lotte in between laughs.

"Run away!" shouted Lisa.

The twins ran down the path, Eva struggling to keep up. Luna ran out of the thick shrubs, laughing. They arrived at the campsite, out of breath. Jake was starting to set up the tents while Klavier was trying to start the fire.

"What'd you guys do?" asked Jake after seeing their flushed cheeks.

"Raced," lied Luna, trying to catch her breath.

"That's nice, Bambina. Go fish. We need dinner 'night."

Luna dumped her backpack inside her tent and grabbed a fishing pole. "Whoohoo! Fishing!" She ran to the nearby lake.

The twins dropped their backpacks inside their tent and followed after their cousin. They had just cast their lines into the water when they heard snow crunching on the ground. The turned to see Eva approaching the campsite, her black hair disheveled. She dropped her bag on the ground near the fireplace. She started yelling at Klavier, pointing at them. Klavier said a few words calmly and went back to warming himself. They all watched as Eva opened up her bag and began putting on her "sunscreen" on her face.

"Oh, God, she's actually putting it on," said Lisa with horror. "That's so gross."

Lotte scrambled up and scooped up some snow, packing it into a ball. "Fifteen bucks if you can hit her in the face and get it to stick."

Luna and Lisa got up and slapped her hand. "You're on, sis," said Lisa.

"I'll take that bet," said Luna.

At the same time, they launched their snowballs at Eva. They all missed, but she shrieked and shot up from the log.

"Snowball fight!" screamed Luna.

Jake rolled his eyes and dropped his tools to scoop up some snow and throw it at Lisa. Laughing, Klavier ducked down and threw his own snowball at Luna. Eva was running around like a chicken without a head. The younger girls aimed for Eva while trying to avoid getting hit by enemy snowballs.

"Stop hitting me!" screamed Eva.

They ignored her pleas. Everyone continued to pelt snowballs in every direction, laughing all the while. It continued on until everyone was tired.

Too bad they never got to hit Eva in the face.

(-- --)

Klavier groaned with satisfaction. "If there is something I missed from camping, it's the fish," he replied. "The best I've had in a while, Jake."

"No problem, hombre."

Lotte and Lisa glanced at Eva who was sitting on a log with her arms and legs crossed.

"Are you sure you don't want any fish, _Mom_?" asked Lisa. "Is it okay if we call you that?"

"I think your mom would prefer if you called me Eva, and no thank you, I do not eat fish for the thousandth time."

"Why?" asked Lisa. "Does the head creep you out?" She picked up the uneaten head of the blackened fish from her plate and made it fly through the air. "Ooh! Headless fish coming your way!" Then Lisa held the head next to her cheek, widened her eyes, and began opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. Lotte and Luna snickered.

"Lisa, don't play with your food," said Klavier.

Lisa giggled and put the fish back onto her plate.

"Ugh, disgusting…" Eva said under her breath.

"Like your face," mumbled Lotte.

"And your personality," added Lisa in a hushed tone.

"So what are we eating tomorrow morning?" asked Eva.

"Fish," replied everyone.

She shut her eyes and grimaced.

"We always eat off the trail. That's part of the fun," explained Jake.

"Ooh, fantastic," she snapped. "What do you do tomorrow? Fish out rocks from the lake?"

"You insisted on coming," pointed out Klavier.

"I did not! I was tricked into coming! She tricked me!"

Klavier chuckled. "She sure did, didn't she?" he replied in a low tone. The twins glanced at each other. "If you want, Jake could always walk you down to the car."

Lotte and Lisa smiled like the Cheshire Cat.

Eva scowled. "I'll stick it out, thanks." Their smiles faded in disappointment. "I'm going to take one huge sleeping pill and going to sleep."

"Goodnight Eva," said Lisa.

"Goodnight Eva," echoed Lotte.

She gave them a dirty look. She got up from the log and as she made her way to her tent she began hitting the two sticks together. Lisa, Lotte, and Luna shoved pieces of fish to hide their snickers. Jake pulled his hat lower to hide his amused smile.

"Eva, what are you doing?" asked Klavier.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm scaring the mountain lions away!"

"Mountain lions?"

"Yeah, the sound--" When she spotted the twins and Luna laughing, her face darkened. "There are no mountain lions here, are there?!"

"Nope."

"Good night!" Eva angrily threw down the sticks and zipped up the entrance to her tent.

"Girls," began Klavier, "cut Eva some slack. This isn't her kind of thing."

"Daddy--"

"Just cut it out. I'm not marrying her because she's Annie Oakley."

Lotte and Lisa blinked at their father before singing, "_Anything you can do, I can do better." _

"_Ha!_" joined in Luna.

"_I can do anything better than you."_

"_No, you can't_."

"_Yes, I can."_

"_No, you can't."_

"_Yes, I can, yes, I can!"_

Jake snickered. "All right, that's enough."

"_Genug!"_ said Klavier.

(-- --)

The night was quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the slow unzipping of a tent. Lotte, Lisa, and Luna quietly stepped out of their tent, carefully tiptoeing in the snow with a duffel bag.

"I hope that sleeping pill worked," whispered Lotte.

She undid the zipper to Eva's tent. There wasn't a lot of room in the tent to maneuver around. Eva was sleeping in the center, curled up in a ball and drooling on her pillow. Lotte moved to the left side and Lisa to the right. Outside, Luna opened up the duffel bag. She took out the rolls of string and bottles of superglue and handed them to her cousins. They wanted to used needles and sew the string into the trap, but they didn't have much time. Superglue was going to have to do.

When their work was done, the three girls stood outside and admired their work. They congratulated each other with a silent smile. For the finishing touches, Luna poured honey everywhere – on the floor of the tent, inside Eva's sleeping bag, on her pillow, on the outside of the sleeping bag, and then made a trail outside as the twins zipped up Eva's tent.

They went back to their own tent to wait for morning to see the fruits of their labor.

(-- --)

**(December 6, 2043, Sunday)**

In the morning, Eva found it hard to move. It felt like glue. There were a couple of shadows looming around her. Whatever it was, she could feel its hot breath… She let out an ear piercing scream when she realized what the shadows were.

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH****!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

Startled, the bear cubs ran out of Eva's tent but not before trying to get a few more licks of the honey on the ground. Eva struggled her way out of her honey soaked sleeping bag and the maze of string inside her tent. Jake and Klavier poked their heads out of their own tents, rubbing their eyes. The twins and Luna were wide awake and basking happily in Eva's misery.

"_**AAAAAH!!! I HATE THIS PLACE! I HATE THIS DIRTY, STINKY PLACE! I HATE NATURE! I HATE THE FISH! I HATE THE COLD! I HATE THE BUGS!" **_("A lizard isn't even a bug," mumbled Lisa. "It's a reptile." Eva kicked a water canteen in her fury, trudging towards the girls. "_**BUT MOST OF ALL, I HATE YOU BRATS!"**_

"Your opinion of us matters as much as dirt," Lisa replied calmly.

"You can fight just as dirty as anyone, can't you?!"

"That's right. _You_ underestimated us."

"I swear to God, I'm going to make your lives miserable when I marry your father!" yelled Eva as Klavier approached her from behind.

"Then I guess it's a good thing that I'm not going to marry you," he replied. Lotte and Lisa beamed.

Eva whirled around. "What?!"

"_Ja_," he said nonchalantly. "Change of plans. The engagement is off."

"But I love you, Klavier!"

"You love my money," he corrected.

Her frustrated growl resonated throughout the forest.

Looks like it was back to the perfume counter for Eva Hutchens.

(-- --)

_BEEP, BEEP!_

_BEEP, BEEP!_

Ema and Lana came out of house to see Jake's car pull into the driveway.

"Hi!" greeted Ema. "You're home early! Did you have fun?"

Lotte and Lisa got out of the car, scowling. "It sucked," they replied. Luna also got out of the car, but she was humming happily as she opened up the trunk.

"What happened to Eva?" asked Lana.

"We played a few tricks on her, and she freaked out," replied Lotte.

Klavier reached into his pocket and withdrew a diamond ring. "She threw this at my head," he said. "I think this hurt more than a Snackoo."

Ema and Lana laughed.

"When we got back, Eva threw all of Klavier's clothes and belongings out the window of her apartment," explained Jake.

"She almost ruined Uncle Klavier's guitars, too, but he got to them first," added Luna.

"Now we've been subjected to menial labor," said Lisa, pulling a bag of her father's clothes out of the trunk.

"Starting now," said Klavier. "You're going to wash all of those clothes, iron them, and fold them. Then you can polish my guitars."

"Lame," muttered Lotte, and she and her sister disappeared into the house.

"I should remember to thank them some day," Klavier whispered to Ema.

Ema turned to him, surprised. She tried to ignore the way her heart and her hope were soaring. "You were staying with her, weren't you? What are you going to do now?" she asked.

Klavier stared at her. "If it's all right with you, can I stay here? I'll stay in the guest bedroom," he added quickly.

"...Suit yourself."

He felt exactly the way he did when Ema accepted his invitation for a date sixteen years ago: contentment.

* * *

I've been busy. I've been writing essays and studying for tests. Again, don't ever take five classes and a lab. So, notes.

More references to _The Women_. The chapter title comes from a line by Mary Haines. In the movie, when she finds out from her daughter that Stephen still loves her, she gets out of bed to get ready to go to a party and get him back. She says, "I've had two years to grow claws, Mother! Jungle Red!" Jungle Red is the name of the nail polish they use in the movie(s). "Looks like it was back to the perfume counter for Eva Hutchens," is reworded from one of Crystal Allen's last lines in the movie.

I decided to use the tricks from the original _Parent Trap_ because I thought it would be messed up to use the tricks from the remake. I mean, it really would have been cruel to push Eva out onto the lake on an inflatable bed in the middle of winter when the water is freezing. At least now you know what the twins were planning on using the honey, superglue, and string that they bought a couple chapters back.

The twins and Luna were singing "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" from a play called _Annie Get Your Gun_.

Those are all the notes I have for this chapter, there are a few more things to mention now. Next chapter is the epilogue. I just have to write the ending and then go back to edit and I'll be done. It might be up before the end of the weekend. _Might_. Next, I won't be writing a sequel, but I will be writing a companion piece. I really love this setting and all of the kids the characters had, so I want to have more fun in writing them. All of the chapters will be one-shots, and they will not be in chronological order. The pieces will range from comedy to some drama. I've finished the first chapter of it already so expect it shortly after this story is finish.

That's it for now! Thanks a bunch of reading!


	7. Bless Our Broken Home

(-- --)

Epilogue

Bless Our Broken Home

**(December 30, 2043, Wednesday)**

"Here comes the bride!" announced Thalassa as she came out of the bedroom. She was followed after by her daughter. All heads turned to Trucy. Trucy beamed and did a twirl to let everyone get a good look of her dress. The dress gave a pleasant swish.

The bride giggled happily. "I look so pretty! I wish I could wear this all the time!"

"Gorgeous," said Kyra.

"Beautiful," said Stella.

"Stunning," said Luna.

"Lovely," said Lotte.

"Exquisite," said Lisa.

"Enchanting," said Diana.

She giggled again and did another twirl. The wedding was taking place in a hotel. The price was too much for Phoenix's budget, but Apollo convinced everyone to help pay for the wedding. After all, they were all on Trucy's side of the family by blood or not. Everyone, even the children chipped in their allowances. Diana was saving up for an expensive set of paints, but she loved her Auntie Trucy more than her own art so without any hesitation, she gave away her money. Kyra was saving up for New York, but she gave away a portion of it. Now, all of the women were gathered in the hotel's bridal suite where they had helped Trucy get ready for the ceremony. Likewise, all the men were gathered in another room to help Trucy's fiancée get ready.

"You should save your smiles for the wedding and reception," advised Franziska. "Your cheeks are going to be sore."

Trucy's smile didn't fade. "I don't care."

"Auntie Franziska, did you ever smile at your wedding?" asked Diana.

"Of course I did!" she answered.

"Could've fooled me," remarked Maya with a smirk.

Franziska whirled around. "You should be lucky Miles made me leave my whip at home, or I'd hit you in a second."

"I was joking, Franziska," she laughed. "You were very lovely at your wedding."

"Only Devlin is old enough to remember it," said Maggey. "He was five at the time."

"I thought he would be six or seven at the time," said Lisa.

"Miles and I waited for two years before having Richard."

"Ooh…"

"Kyra was two, Mondo was one, and Lana was pregnant with Stella at the time," added Vera.

Stella reached over for a bowl of strawberries on the table. She took a bite out of one before taking the bowl into her hands. She offered one to Pearl on her right. "Want one, Auntie Pearl?"

Pearl gently pushed the bowl away. "N-no thank you, Stella." She turned away, a hand clamped over her nose.

Stella frowned. "Are you okay? You love strawberries."

"I-I'm fine!" Pearl quickly got up from the couch and away from the bowl of strawberries and to the other side of the room.

"Is something wrong?" asked Ema.

"Auntie Pearl won't eat the strawberries even though she loves them."

Ema raised an eyebrow and glanced at Vera who glanced at Franziska who glanced at Maggey who glanced at Thalassa who glanced at Lana who glanced at Ema.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" asked Vera.

"Tell what?" asked Trucy.

"It's Trucy's wedding day," said Pearl, clutching her stomach and bending over slightly. "I didn't want to steal her thunder."

"Tell us what?" repeated Trucy.

"Pearl has morning sickness," answered Thalassa.

Lisa snapped her fingers. "She's pregnant!"

Trucy gasped before embracing her best friend. "Why didn't you tell me?! Oh, I'm so happy for you!"

"Th-thank you. But it's your big day! I wasn't going to say anything until after the wedding."

"Does Wocky know?"

Pearl giggled. "Yes, he knows. He found out last night. He offered me a strawberry and I ran out to throw up."

Vera chuckled. "So it's strawberries for you? When I was pregnant with Diana, I couldn't stand the smell, much less the sight, of oranges."

"I couldn't stand vegetables when I was pregnant with Apollo and Trucy. I was attracted more to the meat," said Thalassa.

"It was the opposite for me when I was pregnant with both with Devlin and Kyra," commented Maggey. "It was terrible. I had to eat like a rabbit."

Kyra smiled apologetically and kissed her mother on the cheek. "Sorry, Mom."

"It was meat with me, too," said Franziska. "It was nauseating."

"I remember being repulsed by eggs when I was pregnant with Mondo and Stella. Then it was milk with Luna," said Lana. "I think I was just repulsed by dairy in general."

"I couldn't eat my Snackoos when I was pregnant with the twins," said Ema. "I still don't know what it was that made me want to throw up."

"I remember that," said Kyra. "It was a dark time…"

"Klavier was on pins and needles," said Maya.

"We all were," corrected Trucy.

"More so with him. He had to live with Ema."

Diana frowned. "Being pregnant sounds scary."

"Oh ho, just wait until you reach the point where you start having mood swings," said Lana.

Everyone looked at Ema. Her mouth fell open and she crossed her arms. "Hey! Don't look at me!" she yelled.

"You were the worst when it came to mood swings!"

"What did she do?" asked Lisa.

"She's was always yelling and throwing things."

"I thought Auntie Ema does that all the time," Diana replied innocently.

Luna clamped a hand over the little girl's mouth. "Girly, be quiet," she whispered.

Ema rolled her eyes and got up from the couch. "You know what? I am going to check on the men. It's almost time." She closed the door to the room behind her.

It was silent for a second before Trucy coughed and said, "Lotte, Lisa, how's Klavier?"

"He's still living with us," said Lotte. "He's sleeping in the guest bedroom."

"You'd think that they'd make by now," said Maya.

"We thought so, too," said Lisa. "Mom has been very…_guarded_ right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Like…she's trying to push Dad away."

Lotte smiled. "We saw them dancing in the kitchen late one night. They looked very happy and very much in love."

"What were they dancing to?" asked Stella.

"Um…we don't know the name of it," said Lisa. "It goes something like – _L is for the way you look at me. O is for the only one I see. V is very, very extraordinary--_"

""L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole," answered Franziska. "It's a very old song."

Lotte sighed. "It looked like they were going to kiss, but then something happened and Mom quickly ran off. She passed by us, but I don't think she noticed."

"I think now would be the time to lock them up in a closet," said Trucy.

"How clichéd," murmured Kyra. "You should use your remaining string to tie them together or something."

"Change your tactics," said Stella, biting into another strawberry.

"We've been getting them alone this whole time. Dad manages to catch on and tries to do something. Mom realizes what's going to happen and evades the subject," Lisa explained. "They can't even be on the same page right now."

"Sounds like their relationship before they started dating," commented Trucy.

The door opened. Ema was in the doorway with Apollo and Phoenix behind her. "Hey!" yelled Ema. "Come on! It's time!"

Trucy beamed and picked up her dress so it wouldn't drag on the floor.

"Are you ready?" asked Apollo.

"Of course I am!"

Thalassa kissed her daughter's cheek. "Congratulations, darling."

"Thanks Mom."

Trucy linked her arms with her brother and her father as they walked down the hallway followed by the other women.

"So I'll be expecting that grandkid soon?" asked Phoenix with a wink.

Maya tapped on his shoulder. "Nick, she's getting married, give her a rest! Don't pressure her for kids yet." She paused before adding, "Give it a week or two. Or better yet, remind her before the honeymoon."

Phoenix laughed, putting his arm around her. "It's things like that that make me love you, Maya."

"Then get married!" yelled Pearl.

Maya coughed. "Pearly's pregnant!" she announced.

Phoenix and Apollo screeched to a halt. Trucy was pulled back from the impact.

"What?!"

"Really?!"

"Mystic Maya!"

"For the love of God, just _walk_, you fools!" yelled Franziska from the back. "The timing will be all off if we come in late!"

Trucy yanked her father and her brother to walk again. "Come on! We'll have plenty of time to talk about this after I get married!"

(-- --)

The reception was being held inside a ballroom. Trucy wanted the reception outside, but it was lightly snowing and the weather was too cold for so many people to be outside. There was a stage where a band was playing. People were dancing on the floor. Others were sitting at tables decorated with periwinkle and white tablecloths with blue and white roses for the centerpieces. The high table was off to the side.

Ema stared out onto the dance floor. She spotted Lotte and Richard dancing together. Phoenix was dancing with his daughter. Though it was a fast song, Pearl and Wocky were slow dancing, possibly because they were being careful about their new baby. Diana was standing on her father's feet as they danced. Franziska was obviously displeased with dancing with Larry. Her husband was dancing with Lisa. Devlin had found a pretty girl to dance with.

She looked around the ballroom. She noticed Gumshoe and Maggey busing themselves near the buffet. It looked like Maggey was scolding her husband for taking so much food. She saw her sister and brother-in-law having a conversation with Trucy's new in-laws. Luna was no wallflower as she went around, chatting with the various guests. Kyra was flirting with a guy her age, and Stella was talking with Maya.

Vera came around and squeezed Ema's shoulder, sitting down next to her. "How are you, Ema?"

She smiled and took a sip of champagne. "Just fine."

"I don't mean to be rude, but I find that hard to believe."

"Why say that?"

"I heard that you've been rather guarded lately."

"Did the twins tell you that?"

"Mm."

Ema fell silent and took another sip of champagne. "Klavier broke up with that other woman, and he's living in the house again. He's there in the morning to take the girls to school. He's there at night to have dinner with us. He's there to help out around the house. It's like he never had the affair, like we're not going through a divorce right now. I should be happy."

"Why aren't you happy?" asked Vera. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes, but…I feel like I'm twenty-five again. I'm scared to open up my heart. Maybe this whole thing has made me cynical."

Vera squeezed Ema's hand. "You love him, and I know you know that he loves you. He could have asked to stay with any of us after he dumped that woman, but he wanted to stay with you so he could be very close to his family."

"But my pride--"

"Pride is a luxury a woman in love can't afford."

Ema sighed. "Sometimes I wish there was a pill you could take to make love go away."

Vera smiled wryly as she stood up and straightened out her dress. "Why would you wanna make love go away? It's hard enough to find it in the first place." She glanced up then at Ema before walking away in the direction of the buffet table.

Ema felt calloused fingertips skate along her shoulders. She looked up to see Klavier. Her heart skipped a beat. "Hi," she greeted breathlessly.

She felt her head spin when Klavier got down on one knee and revealed a midnight blue, velvet box and opened it up. She recognized it as the engagement ring Klavier gave her sixteen years ago, and there was another ring beside it. It was a simple white gold band decorated with blue and green diamonds.

"Marry me," he said.

"But we're already married…"

"Marry me again." There was a silent desperation in his eyes. "All I can do right now is say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for breaking your heart and putting you through hell." Ema opened her mouth to say something, but Klavier continued to talk. "And I know that apologies don't solve everything, so please just marry me again and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

Ema closed her mouth. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You stupid, idiotic, glimmerous fop!" she yelled. The band stopped playing abruptly and people stopped dancing and talking. All eyes were turned on them. "Do you really expect me to cry hysterically and accept your proposal?!"

"Yes," he answered sternly, "because I love you, and you love me. I don't give a shit if you think it's corny, but I love you. I never fell out of love with you. I'm just an idiotic fop who lost sight of it."

"Did you ever regain your sight?"

"It's as clear as day, baby."

Ema took a deep breath, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Do you know what it feels like when you find out that the person you love is having an affair?" she asked. "It feels like someone kicked you in the stomach. It feels like your heart stopped beating. It feels like that dream where it feels like your falling and you can't do anything to stop it." She began shaking her head, tears falling down her cheeks like the way raindrops rolled down windowpanes. "Please don't ever do that to me again. Don't break my heart again."

Klavier reached up, brushing her tears away. "I promise. So give me a straight answer. Will you marry me again?"

Ema stared at him through her cloudy green eyes. "No…" Klavier's face fell. It felt as if she had just thrown his heart from the top of a building. "No…but what you can do is burn those separation and divorce papers and move back into the main bedroom. Then you can take me out on a date Saturday night because trust does happen overnight."

He had thought that she threw his heart aside, but it was carefully held in her hands the whole time. Klavier got up, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. And just like the night they first kissed on July 1, 2027, this moment meant everything.

(-- --)

**(August 1, 2047, Thursday)**

At a first glance, no one would notice the new photographs on the mantelpiece. Upon a closer inspection, new pictures were added, some replacing the old. Klavier and Ema's wedding photo was moved across the room and was replaced by the photograph taken when they had renewed their vows two years ago. They looked like they were floating on cloud nine. Even though the picture was frozen in time, they still held the same happiness in their faces everyday. Everyone said that they acted like newlyweds the two years after renewing their vows. They were that crazily, wonderfully, insanely happy.

There was a new photograph next to the ones featuring the twins. In it, they were dressed in their cap and gown, tassels moved to the left. They were proudly displaying their diplomas while showing off the cords and medals for academic and performing honor. Lisa had one more sash than her sister – the sash that proved her as Valedictorian.

The picture with all of the kids in order of age was replaced. Over the past four years, Pearl gave birth to three healthy boys, all of them nine months apart. The oldest was named Henry Winfred Kitaki. Next was Anthony Diego Kitaki. The youngest was Nicholas "Nick" Neil Kitaki. Henry was three, Anthony was two, and Nick was one. Henry's middle name was named after Wocky's father. Anthony's middle name was given in honor of Diego Armando. Nick was named after Phoenix, and though Pearl never met Neil Marshall, she found his story admirable so Nick's middle name was given in honor of Neil Marshall. Jake was incredibly happy. The picture was going to be replaced soon anyway. Trucy was finally pregnant after encountering a snag in her plan, and Pearl was six months pregnant. (She was determined to keep having kids until she had a girl. _Someone_ had to inherit the position as Master after her!)

Lotte and Lisa bounded down the stairs, purses and jackets in their hands. They hadn't changed much in the past four years. They grew a couple more inches, and their brown hair was even longer. They looked very mature and walked with a regal air, which made them seem intimidating, yet admirable.

"We're ready!" they called out.

"I wish you both weren't leaving! Now I understand what the others were saying. But I'm losing both of my kids, not one by one!" wailed Ema.

All kids had to leave the nest sometime, and it was time for Lotte and Lisa to. Just like how they discussed it before, they were going to separate colleges. It was the first time they would be far apart for a very long time. Lotte was going to study music at Columbia University in New York while Lisa was going to attend Oxford as planned. They wouldn't completely on their own either. Kyra was studying acting at NYU, so they would be very close. Lisa was going to be living with Mondo and Stella.

"Mom, we'll call often," reassured Lisa.

"We'll email, too," added Lotte.

"Don't worry," they replied in unison.

Klavier put an arm around his wife and drew her back slightly. "Come on, Ema. We raised our girls well. They'll be fine."

"And we're sorry you can't see us off," said Lotte.

Ema elbowed Klavier in the stomach and began wiping away her tears. "It's all your fault. You should have gotten us a day off."

"We have a trial today."

"You could have gotten Mr. Edgeworth to fill in for you and have Gumshoe take my place," she reasoned.

Klavier bent down to kiss her lips, which tasted like her salty tears. "Ich liebe dich mein Liebling."

Ema melted into the kiss, humming happily against his lips.

Lotte cleared her throat. "Uh, your kids are still in the room."

Lisa flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Well, there's one advantage to having both of us out of the house. You can stop sneaking around and be as loud as you want."

Ema pulled away from Klavier to glare through the remainder of her tears. "You don't have to be so crass."

The younger twin smirked. "Oh, come on, Mom. We're eighteen. We know what goes on between a man and a woman in bed. I can be as crass as I want."

"Stop talking to Richard," said Klavier. "He's a bad influence."

"Even all the way from Germany," laughed Lotte. Richard was attending college in Germany. He was going to major in history before studying to become a defense attorney. His parents were under the impression that he was going to become a prosecutor. It was all a lie. Richard wanted to follow his grandfather's footsteps and not his parents'. His true goal was to one day face off against his parents in court.

They heard a car honking outside. Lotte and Lisa smiled at their parents and moved to the door to pick up their luggage.

"That's the cab," said Lotte.

Ema and Klavier picked up the remainder of their daughters' baggage and followed them outside. They packed all of bags into the trunk. When it was shut, the twins gave their parents one last hug.

"I'll call when I land in Oxford," said Lisa.

"I'll call when I land in New York," added Lotte.

Ema sighed and sniffed back a fresh batch of tears. "Don't cry, Mom," said Lisa. "Haven't you cried enough?" Ema shook her head, blinking back her tears.

"Take care, girls," said Klavier.

"Bye, Daddy!"

"Bye, Mom!"

With a smile, Lotte and Lisa climbed into the taxi. Klavier and Ema stood on the sidewalk, hand in hand as the car pulled away.

The Gavin family was not broken. It was never broken. There were times when cracks would appear, but if they were repaired properly, the cracks could be filled in properly and smoothed away. Even when the family was so far away, they were still a family. That was all that mattered.

THE END.

* * *

Well, here it is. The final chapter. I hope you guys had fun with this story as much as I did. Now time for the final notes!

Again, more references to _The Women_, only it's from the 2008 version. I finally had the pleasure of watching it, and I really liked it. While the 1939 version focuses on the women and their men, the 2008 version focuses more on the women and their friendships and careers and then the men. "Pride is a luxury a woman in love can't afford," is a line from the original movie. Ema's line about taking a pill to make love go away and Vera's response to that line is from the 2008 remake of the movie. I really like Vera's response because it is true. Then when Ema describes the feeling of finding out that your spouse is cheating is also from the 2008 remake.

The story was originally going to end with Ema accepting Klavier's marriage proposal and then fast forward to when they renew their vows, but I decided to take a different path. I think it is more realistic that she doesn't accept him back right away and that they work out their issues by "dating" again. That's a much better ending, don't you think?

The names of Pearl's sons are actually the names of these triplets I grew up with. Their names were Henry "Hank," Anthony, and Nicholas "Nick." Pearl's sons were originally named Henry, Aaron, and Nick, until I realized two of the three and decided to go all the way so Aaron was changed to Anthony. They're even in the order of who came out first. As said before, their middle names come from other characters. Henry's middle name comes from Wocky's father. Anthony's middle name comes from Diego Armando, and Nick's middle name comes from Neil Marshall.

The _snag_ in Trucy's plan will be revealed in the companion piece to this story.

Oh, that's right. Don't forget about the companion piece. It will titled as "Fragments of Life." Keep an eye out for it. It'll be updated every so often. It'll just be a collection of side stories, which will be relatively short.

That's all, folks! I hope you enjoyed reading!


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